On December 1, the Corvallis School District School Renaming Task Force met virtually for meeting #6. The task force has reviewed all suggestions using the criteria specified by the Corvallis School Board (see below). The task force has compiled a list of potential names that will be available for public comment. The list will be published on the district website on December 3 by 5:00 pm.
- Public input on the potential names will be accepted through December 14, 2020, via an online form.
- The task force has not yet identified potential names for specific schools but may do so in their final recommendation to the superintendent.
- The task force will continue to accept new name suggestions through December 7, 2020. Name submissions must meet the board’s criteria.
Topics of the December 8 meeting will include discussion of the recommendation to rename any of the remaining buildings in the Corvallis School District and input from Corvallis School District students via a student survey will be reviewed.
An additional meeting has been added on December 15, 2020, for the task force to finalize their recommendations to the superintendent.
Specific Criteria for School Names
The task force members are required to provide recommendations of names for the three schools (Husky, Jaguar, Wildcat Elementary Schools) that meet specific criteria:
- The social justice implications of the history, work, and representation of any figure for whom a school is named should be fully explored and understood. Additional weight in recommendation should be given to figures who valued and worked for social justice in their lives. Those that intentionally perpetuated white dominance (i.e. slaveholders, racist and /or anti-Indigenous views, etc.) will not be considered.
- Women who have made inspirational contributions during their lives should be given additional weight in recommendations to remedy the lack of representation among current school names.
- At least one school in Corvallis should have a name that honors the local Indigenous people chosen in consultation with the two local Tribes.
- At least one school in Corvallis should have a name that honors the community’s connection to place.
- View the Corvallis School Board Resolution 20-0801
Meetings are held virtually and are not open to the public but meeting notes and presentation materials are available to the public on the district website.