Change coming for Stark County’s Rebel

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE
For The Prairie News

WYOMING – The Stark County High School Rebel mascot was approved for “rebranding’’ by the school board at Tuesday night’s meeting. The caricature of a Civil War rebel is out due to what could be called political correctness.

Stark County High School was formed in the fall of 1992 with the consolidation of Toulon-LaFayette and Wyoming High Schools. The first Stark County High graduating class was in 1993. At that time the “Rebel” was depicted on the front lawn signage as a Revolutionary War “rebel.”

Within a few years though, in 1995, the mascot of a Civil War rebel appeared in the school’s yearbook, The Rebellion. That image has since been the mascot until now.

“The Rebel mascot is not accurate,” Superintendent Brett Elliott said Tuesday. “The original intent was to be a Revolutionary War rebel or patriot. We are the Rebels, we’ll always be the Rebels as long as we’re here. So, we’re not changing what the mascot is.”

Elliott said that just the depiction of the Rebel is changing.

A new design of the Rebel mascot will be chosen from entries to be submitted on social media.

“We would run the campaign with community [and students] voting throughout this spring and select a new modern logo by May in order to have it ready for ordering new gear/uniforms/signage for the 2022-23 school year,” Elliott said.

Next year marks the 30th year of Stark County High School’s existence. The school colors will remain red, black and white.

Elliott reported that the new high school renovation construction project is now 45 percent complete.

On Feb. 28, construction inside will commence.

Originally the construction cost was estimated at $15 million, but now it sits at $16.5 million. Elliott said that the $1.5 million increase will be covered by ESSER funds and other grant funds.

With the retirement of Athletic Director Scott Paxson effective at the end of this school year, the board has approved hiring Roland Brown as athletic director. Brown has spent his entire career at Richwoods High School, in Peoria, as physical education and health teacher, and coaching track and football there.

The board, in addition to hiring Brown, approved numerous personnel changes after an executive closed session. Among those was the resignation of Assistant Principal Anne Snyder, effective Feb. 11.

The board also hired Amy DeBouver for Unit Office Clerical starting March 7, approved Bob Bohm as high school head girls basketball coach and Gary Frail as head junior high girls’ and boys’ track coach, accepted the resignation of H.S. social studies teacher Alexander Southe and of Alli Chasteen as an elementary school teacher, approved Ron Peterson as H.S. Industrial Arts teacher, and accepted the resignation of Drinda Maher as lunch and crossing guard supervisor.

The board also approved Jenni Hart for SCES lunch supervision, moved Angie McGrath from guidance counselor to classroom teacher, approved Tyler Jones for junior high physical education, approved Bruce West as a volunteer J.H. softball coach and Patty Wilkinson as prom sponsor, and accepted the resignation of custodian Jamie Hess.