CAL, H-D boards strike agreeable balance on whole grade sharing agreement decisions

Editorial: Recently, the CAL and Hampton-Dumont Boards of Education chose to keep the school mascot and color scheme currently used by Hampton-Dumont school when the two enter the whole grade sharing agreement.
Estimates to rebrand the gym, athletic uniforms and buses to reflect the change of a new mascot and colors just at Hampton locations alone were more than $200,000. Board members on both sides expressed that this was in the best interest of the districts from a monetary standpoint, as the whole grade sharing agreement was presented for financial purposes.
Furthermore, the boards agreed to not overcomplicate the issue and elected to have the school referred to as “Hampton-Dumont-CAL.” What this name does is let both schools keep an individual identity, but also represents a sense of unity. With the schools’ names represented, they can go forward together as one with a reminder from where the students came.
The boards also put in measures to ensure students from CAL, particularly graduating and soon-to-be seniors under the agreement, are able to be honored for their time at CAL. For the first two years, seniors will be able to choose what school name is represented on diplomas. The first graduating class will have a salutatorian and valedictorian representing both CAL and H-D.
Tough decisions needed to be made, including entering into the agreement itself. But the boards proved they were able to strike a balance between financial awareness and the ability to make sure students don’t have to immediately abandon their sense of school pride.