Drake panel seeks more feedback in name debate

After scores of public comment at a half- dozen forums, Sir FrancisDrakeHigh School’s site council said thisweek they stillneeded more feedback before they could decide if the school’s name should be changed to oust the 16th century English explorer because of alleged ties to slave trading.

“Have we done everything to make sure that we’ve put our best faith effort forward?,” LIz Seabury, principal of the San Anselmo high school, asked the 18-member Drake Leadership Council before they voted in favor of more outreach at meeting Thursday before about 40 participants logged in online. “What do we need to do to move forward?”

The group, composed of six teachers, two classified staff members, five students, four parents and Seabury, decided in favor of hearing three community presentations at the next meeting at 4 p.m. Oct. 15. Those will be from people in a racial equity panel, a Drake alumni group and from Coast Miwok representatives.

In addition, three of the subgroups in the panel — parents,

classified staff and students — agreed to connect among themselves to gather feedback from their peers and bring it back to the larger committee. Data fromtheir research will be presented at a newly scheduledmeeting Oct. 29 at 4 p.m.

“I need to have numbers,” said classified staff member Lisa Neumaier said, referring to proposed survey of student opinions.

Finally, the group also said theywould like to hear a presentation from an expert on how people of color are affected by various symbols — such as names — that could have racial overtones.

Parent Jim Vetter said that impact of the name on racial minorities in Marin was the key point — and not whether Drake himself was an honorable person. Various historians and alumni groups have argued in recent weeks that Drake was actually sympathetic to the plight of slaves and did not engage in the violent or racist behavior that proponents of the name change have ascribed to him.

“It's not about the man Sir Francis Drake,” Vetter said. TeacherKevinMagee agreed.

“It's a hard decision if we don't think about race,” Magee said. “If we think about it, then the question is, ‘Are we honoring our people of color?'”

Opponents of the name change have insisted that the issue had nothing to do with race. For them, they said, it is about family history and generations of graduates whose memories are intertwined in the

name of the school.

The council rejected an amendment proposed by parent Louis Nuyens to delve further into the projected cost of a name change. That was after Seabury said it was premature to go deeper into expenses until after the council decided if the name should change or not.

She has previously stated that a rough estimate was $ 430,000 to cover such things as new signs, athletic uniforms, letterhead and a new gym floor. The money would come from private fundraising, she said. No taxpayer dollars would be used, she added.

“If the decision is tied to social justice, then the money will come,” Seabury said. “That's because it will be rooted in values.”

Drake math teacher Richard Marshall spoke against a plan to have another forumon the history of Drake — in addition to one already done this summer in regard to changing the name of Marin's Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

“It's paralysis by analysis,” Marshall said. “I don't need to hear more history about slavery.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Drake alumni John Geluardi and Nancy Abballo, opponents of the name change, alleged that some of the teacher representatives on the Drake Leadership Council were “hand- picked” because they supported the name change. They alleged that could make the panel biased.

Seabury responded that the Drake Leadership Council members were each elected by their respective peers in a “democratic and transparent process,” she said.

“The teaching staff predominantly support the name change,” Seabury said. “There was no handpicking and no bias.”

The Drake Leadership Council is scheduled to make a decision on whether to change the name later this year. If they vote that the name should be changed, theywouldforward a recommendation to Tara Taupier, superintendent

of the Tamalpais Union High School District.

Taupier would then deliver the recommendation to the district's board of trustees, who would make the ultimate decision. If the council decides not to recommend a name change, no recommendation would go forward to the TamDistrict and the name would stay as is.