The Dixie School District board voted Tuesday night to change the name of the 150-year-old district after critics linked it to the Confederacy and slavery.
Trustees voted 3-1, with one abstention, to change both the name of the Marin County district and the name of its elementary school by Aug. 22, when classes resume.
However, the board didn’t choose a new name. A committee made up of parents, other community members and district staff will be set up to solicit and evaluate suggestions from the public.
“It’s a bigger issue than this little district,” said Kerry Peirson of Mill Valley, who first proposed the name should be changed 22 years ago. “Now perhaps they can move forward and it will be better for the kids and the whole environment. I wish it was done with more enthusiasm but I’m glad it’s done.”
The board rejected some 15 names in February when it voted against a name change on grounds that more community input was needed.
The cost of the name change, such as replacing signs, was estimated at nearly $40,000, but the Marin Community Foundation pledged to cover it.
Board trustee Marnie Glickman, who fought for the change, said it’s an opportunity to come together for students.
“We can teach them about being compassionate and making amends and there’s a tremendous amount of excitement about what’s the best new name for our district,” Glickman said.
Home and school clubs, similar to PTA’s, will hold brainstorming events and there will be on online outreach effort for new name submissions.
The advisory committee of four parents, four non-parents, two staff and one alumnus will select the best three to five names from those proposed and submit them for board vote before school starts this fall, according to Glickman.
Dixie is a nickname for the southern U.S. states that formed the pro-slavery Confederacy in 1860, sparking the Civil War. The legacy of the Confederacy prompts political, legal and cultural conflicts to this day.
