Moorhead Area Public Schools’ master facilities plan included the construction of two new schools, the remodeling of other schools, and the closing of some buildings. Each building had a name or needed a name. The 14 members of the School Naming Task Force determined and carried out a public, participatory process to provide a recommendation for school building names to the Moorhead School Board. The task force looked at options for naming, including retiring names, reusing names or designating new names for each school.
The School Naming Task Force convened February 6, 2003. The task force’s recommendation for school names was submitted to the superintendent in May 2003 and approved by the School Board on May 27, 2003.
Task Force Responsibilities and Guidelines
Specific responsibilities of the task force were to:
- Understand the present and future use of school buildings as per the Moorhead School District Master Facilities Plan.
- Understand the symbolism and significance of existing and future school names.
- Research, determine, and execute a public, participatory process for soliciting community-wide input for possible school names.
- Consider and select school name options as per the following guidelines:
a) A person
- deceased unless unique circumstances warrant an exception
- a famous American or world figure
- a significant local contribution to public education by a local resident
- a significant historical contribution by a person or family
- persons who have attained significant prominence in their professional field, public service or leadership in the betterment of the human race
b) A place
- geographic names, landmarks or characteristics relevant to the school
- the street, road, major thoroughfare or other geographic feature where the school is located
- the community or neighborhood in which the school is located
c) A symbolic metaphor
- a symbolic name that reflects the positive values of the school, the school district, the community, the region, or the country
d) Some combination of the above.
- Develop a comprehensive report for the recommendation for school names.
- Submit the recommendation report to the Superintendent of Schools for submission to the School Board.
Task Force Updates and Photos
Meeting Notes
Task Force Report