The West Windsor-Plainsboro School District presented its first draft of a facilities’ naming rights policy at its board meeting on Tuesday, September 11. In it the district addressed the criteria for naming one of its facilities and the significance that must be ascertained.
With the policy, the board takes a step in responding to the push by many former students and members of the community to name High School North’s baseball field in memory of David Bachner, a star pitcher who died of cardiac arrest in the summer of 2009, after his graduation from High School North.
Also mentioned in the policy are appropriate memorials for suicide victims, after debates have been made about yearbook pages and other tributes to former WW-P students such as Kenny Baker of Plainsboro, who committed suicide by stepping in front of a train on May 19, 2009.
The school board will present its second reading of the policy at its next meeting, on Tuesday, October 2. WW-P Director of Communications Gerri Hutner said she expects some revisions to the text to be presented at that meeting. Below is the current version:
I. Definition
For the purpose of this policy, a facility is a large place within school grounds used or designed for a specific purpose, such as a theater, auditorium, cafeteria, lobby, commons, courtyard, library, media center, stage, athletic field, pool, or gymnasium.
II. Naming New Schools or Facilities
The Board shall encourage citizen participation in the naming of any new district facility and, in each instance, shall set-up a means whereby suggestions will be solicited from the public.
Before naming any new facility, the Board shall appoint, upon the recommendation of the Administration and Facilities Committee, an Ad Hoc Naming Committee (Policy No. 9130.1) with a specific charge. The committee will invite interested citizens or township representatives to suggest name(s) and to offer written support for the appropriateness of their suggestion(s). The committee will review name(s) submitted and will submit up to three recommendations, with
the grounds for their selections, to the Board for formal action.
Criteria
The Board shall provide approved criteria for decision-making to the committee,including, but not limited to:
a. No discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, sex, familial status, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability, and perceived disability, and AIDS and HIV status;
b. The history and traditions of West Windsor and Plainsboro Townships;
c. Historical significance and/or contributions of various individuals and groups to the life and growth of the communities;
d. Names of streets or local communities in identifying the location of a given school; and
e. In no event shall a school or a facility be named after a person until at least five years after the individual’s death (or the end of formal association with the district).
III. Naming or Renaming Existing Schools and Facilities.
All requests to name or to rename a school or facility should be made to the Board President or the Superintendent in writing. The request will be forwarded to the Administration and Facilities Committee for consideration. If the Committee finds merit in the recommendation, it will follow the procedures outlined in section II.
IV. Other Commemorative and Memorial Recognition.
The Board recognizes the desire and importance of acknowledging and commemorating a student, teacher, administrator, or other member of the community who has died or retired, and who has made significant contributions to the school community, or whose achievements are especially significant, remarkable, or important.
Principals are authorized to approve the placement of plaques or signs, the planting of trees and gardens, and similar methods of commemorating and memorializing such persons. Such authority shall not include naming or renaming buildings or facilities, and shall be exercised only after the principal has established a school policy consistent with this policy and approved by the School Board.
V. Existing Facility Names, Commemorations, and Memorials.
The Board of Education reserves the right to review and/or reconsider any district property named prior to the enactment of this policy.
VI. Suicide.
In the unfortunate case of suicide the district recognizes that adolescents are especially vulnerable to the risk of contagion, and that a victim should not be memorialized in a way that may inadvertently dramatize or romanticize their suicide.
It is the policy of this board of education, consistent with what we believe is the consensus of the best informed medical and educational experts, that the most appropriate memorial for a suicide victim is a living one such as a scholarship fund or contributions to support suicide prevention. Permanent markers or memorials, or special pages in yearbooks or school activities dedicated to the suicide victim will not be approved or authorized.
