Mayor Lorraine Morton’s reputation as a “uniter” failed to quell debate at Monday’s school board meeting, where members discussed a proposal to rename Haven Middle School in the retiring mayor’s honor.
Eleven opponents of the proposal voiced their concerns during a public comment section at the District 65 school board meeting. School board members later questioned the renaming committee’s 4-3 endorsement of the proposal.
The two board members who served on the committee defended their findings, and the board agreed to continue discussion at its March 17 meeting. The goal is to reach a decision by the end of March.
During the public comment section, several parents and alumni discussed the potential impact of changing Haven’s name. The school is named after Otis Erastus Haven, who led the effort to create Evanston’s first public high school in the 1870s.
“Otis Haven helped lay the groundwork for an equitable Evanston school system,” said Lesley Williams, who lives near the school. “In our own day, as we struggle with issues of equity and achievement gaps, his story is especially relevant.”
A teacher at Haven spoke of a staff survey in which the vast majority staff members supported keeping the school’s name.
Several community members argued the renaming committee was stacked from the beginning in favor of the proposal, citing public statements from both board representatives on the committee in favor of the proposal. School board president Mary Erickson, who was on the renaming committee, said that the accusation was unfair.
She pointed to the fact that three committee members voted against the proposal, including Dick Peach, the chairman.
Although most of the roughly 75 community members who attended the meeting seemed opposed to the proposal, many Evanston residents support the idea, said Bonnie Lockhart, another board member on the committee.
“We had e-mails, petitions and people speaking in favor of changing the name,” Lockhart said. “The fact that they are not here tonight does not mean that they feel less strongly.”
The cost of renaming the school was debated repeatedly at the meeting. In its report to the board, the renaming committee said the cost of switching the school’s name could be covered by private donations.
Morton, a former Haven principal, is the city’s first black mayor. She was also the first black curriculum chairperson at Nichols Middle School. The renaming committee cited both these firsts in their report to the board.
In his public comments, Haven parent and alumnus Louis English said he wanted to make it clear that opposition to the proposal was not based on racial prejudices.
“Four generations of African Americans in this family have entered through the front doors of Haven and benefited from its rich traditions,” he said. “We seek to have those traditions continue.”
Praise for Mayor Morton was universal among the community members and board members who spoke on both sides of the renaming issue.
“Everyone, including the people who don’t want to rename Haven, want to honor the mayor,” said board member Jerome Summers. “Do you?”
“Yes, yes,” responded community members, raising their hands.
