Public school board prepares for renaming requests

As some Edmontonians question why city landmarks bear the names of controversial figures, the public school board will prepare for requests to change schools’ names.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to task its three-member policy committee with drafting a roadmap of what to do, should members of the public request trustees rename a school.

Board vice-chairwoman Bridget Stirling said the board needs clarity on how it would handle a request, “however rare it might be.”

“We know how we name schools. We don’t really know how we rename schools,” she said.

A community may also want to rename a school when its mandate or programs change, or when schools consolidate, she said.

In August, people rallied for Frank Oliver’s name to be stripped from an Edmonton neighbourhood, park and monument.

Oliver spearheaded a movement to take land from the Papaschase and other Indigenous people, they said.

A 1910 public school building in the Oliver neighbourhood also bears the politician’s name.

Dan Knott Junior High in Mill Woods has also been flagged by black history advocates, pointing to Knott’s ties with the Ku Klux Klan while he served as Edmonton’s mayor in the 1930s.

The conversation prompted trustee Cheryl Johner to suggest the board consider a renaming policy.

Johner said it’s important to understand and acknowledge history so people don’t repeat past mistakes.

Trustee Trisha Estabrooks said the public should understand developing a policy doesn’t equate to the board endorsing the idea of renaming schools.

“It’s 2017, and it’s no longer appropriate, thankfully, to name public buildings — particularly public schools — after those who held racist views. It’s just unacceptable,” she said.

Calling a renaming policy “grainy and complicated work,” trustee Michael Janz pointed to the augmentation of a residential schools mural in Grandin LRT station as an example of how a community can acknowledge and learn from history.

Board chairwoman Michelle Draper said in an interview she has yet to hear from any constituents who would like to see public schools renamed.

It could take the three-member policy committee months, or even a year, to develop a roadmap, she said.

New or updated board policies are introduced at public meetings and are posted online for public feedback before approval.