The Sandusky Redskins mascot will soon be no more, after the Sandusky School Board voted six to one to retire the mascot at Monday night’s board meeting. The prospect of phasing out the Redskins mascot has been a hot issue for the district in recent months. In March, the Sandusky School Board and members of the community received a presentation from a representative of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. He explained that the term ‘redskin’ dates back to the 1800s as a slang term used in reference to paying a bounty for Native Americans. Sandusky was one of just two schools in Michigan still using the mascot.
On Monday night the school board made it official, with all but one member of the board voting to phase out the mascot by the end of this school year. Board members Dan Gerstenberger, Norah Harding, Jane Jacobson, Carolyn Stoutenberg and Jason Trepkowski all voted in favor of retiring the mascot, with Robert Hassler voting against the issue.
Sandusky Community Schools Superintendent Paul Flynn says the district will exercise due diligence and not rush the process of choosing a new mascot. He says a committee of students will seek input from the Sandusky community and work to identify the characteristics a new mascot should represent. He adds that the district hopes to have a new mascot in place by the beginning of the 2022/2023 school year.
Flynn says the district is in the process of applying for a grant through the Native American Heritage Fund to cover the costs associated with changing the school’s mascot. He says the district is currently working to take inventory of everything that will need to be changed, with the hope being that the grant will cover most or all of the cost.
Superintendent Flynn commended the students, community and members of the school board, adding that “it’s been a long process and I think the board did a fine job in taking it seriously and working to come up with a solution.”
