By John Basilesco
Staff Writer
May 07, 2008 06:00 am WINDHAM — The School Board last night declared an end to the long-running debate over the colors for the new high school. That means the official colors will be blue, gold and green. The issue came before the board again in March after voters approved a citizens petition in favor of scrapping blue from the mix and sticking with the traditional colors of green, gold and white. The vote was 1,414 to 957. But the board last night announced the color combination it approved in January as part of a compromise would not be changed, despite the vote on the nonbinding citizens petition. Chairman Barbara Coish read a six-point statement from the School Board, acknowledging the petition vote to eliminate blue, but stating that the board would stand by its decision in January. She cited a student vote in November 2005, which established the blue-and-gold scheme, as the reason the board would not eliminate blue from the colors. "In an effort to avoid divisiveness, the School Board voted to add the color green to the scheme," she read from the board's statement. The actual mix of the three colors will be up to the school district administration and the new athletic director for Windham High School, who is to begin this summer. "No further discussion on the School Board agenda will be held on this issue" was the final point Coish read from the prepared statement. Asked about the statement, Coish said, "This is our statement. There are thoughts from all five School Board members. ... We're basically stating that nothing's changing." Resident Jeff Domogalo, who attended last night's meeting, said later that he was disappointed with the School Board's decision. He participated in a green ribbon campaign launched early last month by Jim Curtin in support of replacing blue with green. Curtin, who organized the citizens petition approved in March, said the student vote in 2005 was flawed. The students wanted to keep green in the color mix, but the green vote was split between a wolverine and a wildcat. The result: The blue and gold jaguar won out, but it did not reflect their real choice, Curtin said. "Basically, they swept it under the carpet," Domogalo said of the board's statement. "They were just being rigid about what they thought. It's clear that they are not going to move on the issue." Now, it will be up to the athletic director to choose the percentage of the different colors for sports uniforms, he said. Domogalo said he placed a green ribbon on a tree on his front lawn to show his support for including green. He said some other residents did the same. Curtin was unable to attend last night's meeting, Domogalo said.
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.