What's in a Name? Bethel School Board Warns Special Meeting

By Chris Costanzo

The Bethel School Board's decision on March 29 to unite the Bethel Elementary School and the Whitcomb Jr.-Sr. High School under a single name as The Albert Whitcomb School has caused a stir in Bethel. As a result, a special school board meeting is being warned to discuss the issue Tuesday, May 1 at 6 p.m. at the school.

On March 19, school board chair David Allen noted that in past years, when the total school population was over 500, there were two schools, the elementary school and high school, each with its own principal. Today they form, in essence, a single school, with a total population of about 290, with one principal, one building, and one budget.

In order to avoid duplicative bureaucracy and other redundant efforts, Allen felt that the school should have one name. The school board agreed, but delayed its decision for 10 days in order to gauge any negative public reaction. There not appearing to be any, the board then approved the change.    

About two weeks after the change, a number of people in the community began voicing objections. Among these were that the school board failed to involve the community sufficiently in the decision, that the elimination of the name "Bethel" would weaken the school's role as a key community institution, and that the name change was illegal. In addition, a number of students started a petition to reconsider the change.

On Tuesday, April 24, there was a school assembly to address the issue. The student council's Maya Robinson informed her fellow students of the forthcoming special school board meeting, and noted that students as well as alumni and other community members could attend and be heard. She urged that the school classes be represented at the meeting in an organized way.

Principal Andy West then explained to the students that school enrollment is continuing to decline in Bethel, and that Bethel must now attract students from other towns in addition to Bethel itself. He noted that the word "Bethel" in the school's name might imply a role for the school that is limited to the town, and thereby discourage outside students from attending.

West admitted, however, that there was an important emotional factor in any name change, so he urged people to attend the school board meeting next week to hash out the issue. He added that the change of the name change is not final, and can be revised.

The legality of a name change is not clear. The Herald has seen copies of early documentation with respect to the Albert Whitcomb Fund that originally subsidized the school. It specifies that its name would be Whitcomb High School. At some point, it came to be known as Whitcomb Jr.-Sr. High School, but it is not certain if this was a formal change or merely a gradual evolution of usage after the addition of the middle school.

Allen told The Herald that he believes some formula can be found to extend the name "Whitcomb' even further to encompass the whole school.