Prairie Land School Division (PLSD) held a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday, December 8, to discuss a possible renaming of the new school in Delia following online opposition to one of the suggested names.
Construction on the new kindergarten to Grade 12 school began in September of this year following an outpouring of community support and fundraising.
Shandele Battle Ward 4, Subdivision 2 (Delia) trustee for PLSD told the Mail, “Although there is no formal protocol for naming or renaming a school in board policy, it was felt community input was required as a result of a desire from the public to share their thoughts.”
One of the names suggested for the new school was Ray Martin or R.J. Martin after the former Alberta NDP leader. Martin was born and raised in Delia, attending Delia School from Grade 1 through graduation, and his connection to the community, as well as his dedication to education and “his life’s body of work” were motivators behind the suggestion.
However, some residents shared their opposition to Martin’s name being considered for the new Delia school online. Following the community’s response, PLSD superintendent Cam McKeage issued a letter on Thursday, December 3 acknowledging the community and apologizing for any controversy the name suggestion may have caused.
“We completely misread the community and the passion that is held for the name of Delia School,” the letter stated. “In hindsight, a mistake was made and we are prepared to work towards rectifying it.”
Delia Community School, to honour the community’s involvement was one of the names suggested during the town hall meeting. Violet Barss School was another name suggestion, after the former Delia mayor and the first woman in Canada to govern a municipality.
Maintaining the name Delia School was also suggested during the meeting.
“The information and feedback gathered will be discussed at the next board meeting on Tuesday, December 15,” Battle said.
