SNOHOMISH – Residents of the Snohomish School District have two weeks to try to sway the school board on whether to name the second high school for an eagle, a mountain or rivers.
The school board will choose the school’s name at a May 23 meeting.
The three finalists are:
Eagle Ridge High School: A number of eagles have been spotted at the site, which sits atop a ridge overlooking the valley.
Glacier Peak High School: The school has a view of the North Cascade range, including the 10,541-foot volcano.
Three Rivers High School: Named for where the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers join to form the Snohomish River, about four miles south of the school.
The new school, off Cathcart Way, is scheduled to open in 2008.
A 30-person committee whittled nearly 500 suggested names to 10 semifinalists, then the three finalists.
Snohomish native Morgan Davis, 65, addressed the school board recently to voice his concerns about the choices and the process.
Davis feels that Eagle Ridge and Glacier Peak infringe on other school districts: Arlington High School’s mascot is the eagle, while Granite Falls is physically closer to the volcano. Meanwhile, Three Rivers brings to mind a trailer park that frequently floods, he said, and could also be confused with Twin Rivers Correctional Facility, which houses sex offenders.
Ultimately, the 1960 Snohomish High School graduate worries heritage is being snubbed in plans for the school, which will serve a number of new housing developments on the district’s growing south side.
Davis submitted Clearview High School – which made the top 10 – after a nearby unincorporated community his family helped settle in the 1800s.
“It should be a community decision,” Davis said of the naming process.
Marshland High School also was among the 10 semifinalists; the name refers to another historic region.
Both names drew few votes on the naming committee when it came to the final cut, member Patty Venema said.
“The older people loved it. But the younger kids just didn’t like it,” said Venema, whose daughter will be in the new high school’s first graduating class.
The top three names were decided by several anonymous votes by committee members, including students.
“We’re not going to make everyone happy,” Venema said.
This is the second time a naming committee has taken some heat in helping name a new school in the district. Several residents were dissatisfied with the name picked for a new elementary to open on the south side this fall: Little Cedars.
The board has stuck by its decision on that name.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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