WUHS alumni weigh in on facility naming, board responds
The main entrance at Woodstock Union High School & Middle School last summer. (Gareth Henderson File Photo)
A facility naming policy is one idea on the table connected to raising funds for the proposed new Woodstock Union High School & Middle School building. But some have raised concerns about the idea, since a petition to maintain legacy names on facilities quickly gained well over 750 signatures after starting last week.
Though the idea has been discussed at the committee level, the policy has not been finalized, district board leaders have said. It will come before the board’s Policy Committee on April 19, followed by a first reading before the full board next month. Another important element is the Fundraising Working Group, which the board is currently forming.
A group of WUHS alumni circulated a petition on Facebook late last week, after a presenter at a March 29 district board Zoom meeting about the project mentioned the football field. The main concern for petitioners was keeping longstanding, legacy names of buildings and fields intact.
“We have started a petition in an effort to show the board that legacy naming, including that of the Yoh Theater and James T. McLaughlin field, to just name two, should not, now or ever, be part of the naming options,” the petition read. “Our beloved teachers and coaches and librarians have dedicated decades to growing and educating the children of this community and they deserve their names to be known for future generations to learn about the foundation on which this school has stood.”
On Saturday, Windsor Central Unified Union School District board leadership responded to clarify the situation, in a message on the Woodstock listserv from Chair Bryce Sammel and Vice Chair Keri Bristow. They wrote that the presenter at the March 29 meeting was merely giving an example, and the board has made no decisions about re-naming any of the facilities mentioned in the petition. Furthermore, Sammel and Bristow noted “‘naming’ is a common mechanism to raise private funds which are critical for the new school to come to fruition.”
“We are confident that we can use such a program to help secure our school's future while still honoring the past,” they wrote. “Please be reassured that the goal will be to preserve past dedications to beloved coaches, teachers, and community members.”
The board is aiming to have a mix of fundraising sources, including federal, state, local and private funds, for the proposed $73.3 million project. It’s been widely acknowledged that a new school is needed. The current school building was built in 1957, with a 1960s addition, and with a “functional lifespan of perhaps 30-40 years,” as the school website states. There is also emphasis on having a building which serves the educational needs of today’s students. The $73.3 million number includes about $2 million in contingency costs and is adjusted up for inflation over the next two years, Sammel noted.
At an district board meeting Monday on Zoom, Sammel, a fourth-generation Vermonter, encouraged everyone to avoid an “us vs. them” approach.
“I don’t want this board to be ‘them’, because we’re all in this together, we’re all part of the same community,” he said.
Sammel also said the strength of the 18-member district board “comes from its diversity”, and everyone brings something different to the table.
“I would ask everyone to consider this and to try to assume best intentions of our board members, but please, please ask tough questions and hold us accountable,” he said. “I would ask our board members to not take these questions or comments personally, but to recognize that they’re usually coming from a place of trying to preserve a certain set of values. Values we probably all share and hold dear.”
On Monday night, several alumni spoke. Maura McLaughlin Tynes is a 1994 graduate of WUHS and a district-level school administrator in Newton, Massachusetts, who has been involved with five school building projects. The WUHS athletic field bears the name of her father, longtime football coach James McLaughlin, and her sisters, Meg McLaughlin Roylance and Abby McLaughlin Kachura, graduated from WUHS. Tynes was particularly concerned that the concept of renaming was mentioned in March 15 Policy Committee minutes and the March 29 board meeting on Zoom.
“I must say that I find it particularly offensive that the board would come close to entertaining this — especially when two of these individuals live right down the street, both of which had successful coaching careers. And if you are not familiar with them you can go into Dailey Gym to see a fair share of field hockey and football banners,” Tynes said, referring to her father and Yvonne Frates, longtime WUHS field hockey coach. “They and their families are still right here in the community.”
Tynes and WUHS alum Dean Corkum both acknowledged the significant need for a school upgrade, but urged the board to preserve prior dedications. Corkum, who spearheaded the petition, noted these names as ones which should remain intact on school fields and facilities: coaches McLaughlin, Frates, and Robert Dailey; theater director Robert Yoh; librarian Rhoda Teagle; and horticulture teacher Arnie Howe.
“We’d like to have the new proposal be written so these names will not be changed,” Corkum said.
On Monday night, the board was originally going to hold the first reading of the facility naming policy, but the matter was sent back to the Policy Committee to allow this group time to gather feedback from the community. The next discussion about the policy will be at the committee’s next meeting on April 19. The full board meets May 3.
In a Tuesday interview, Sammel said he was confident any differences about the issue could be resolved.
“I have no concerns that we're going to be able to come up with a solution that satisfies both sides,” he said.
He also noted that a policy can always be changed by the board in the future, adding he would be concerned about a policy saying a particular change can “never” occur.
“I'd rather have something that embraces both sides and has a proper mechanism in place to make change, or not make change, so that it holds up” over the long term, Sammel said.
Perrin Worrell, a WUHS alumni and former district board member, said she, too, supports the board’s efforts on the project and the fundraising, and said a new school is greatly needed.
“I don't think people object to using naming rights as a fundraising effort," Worrell said. “We know that fundraising is necessary for any of this to work."
At the same time, she said, “You have to have the buy-in of the alumni, and you're going to ostracize the alumni if you don't protect the legacy naming.”
Multiple people at Monday’s meeting said they were encouraged by the level of participation in the petition, and that it bodes well for the overall project. Anyone wishing to share feedback is encouraged to email Policy Committee Chair Lou Piconi, Sammel, or Bristow, or attend the April 19 Policy Committee meeting.
— Gareth Henderson
Go to these links for further information about the WUHS/MS new school project design and background.
The Windsor Central Unified Union School District includes the towns of Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading and Woodstock.
