BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) - A Maine school board voted unanimously to reverse a decision on a school mascot following community push back.
The Brunswick School Board voted Thursday to adopt the chickadee as the Kate Furbish Elementary School mascot after originally deciding to dub the students dragonflies, the Times Record reported.
Students who will attend the school when it opens next year voted in a school-wide assembly between three mascots - the dragonfly, the honey bee and the chickadee.
School-wide and classroom newsletters were sent home announcing that the chickadee was selected by an “overwhelming majority.”
The board voted on Jan. 22 in favor of the dragonfly.
Parents, teachers and community members expressed concerns over the message the board sent about democracy by undermining their voices.
“It may seem like a small thing to you, but it is not a small thing to our children now or in their future, as they learn what it is to be a part of a community, as they learn about democracy,” Megan Angelos, a parent of a kindergarten student at Coffin wrote in an email to the board.
Board members said Thursday that they did not have all of the information before they voted, that they were under the impression the student election was more informal.
“We all make mistakes,” board Chairman Jim Grant said. “The board made a mistake.”
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