The names of new Pasco schools should honor people, not the sky | Opinion

Pasco schools wisely sought public input on what to name two new schools that are under construction.

Popular suggestions that evoke the region’s grand geography might have the least potential to offend, but this is an opportunity to honor individuals who made important contributions to the community.

When the district asked residents to suggest names, hundreds did so. They produced impressive lists of contenders and provided insightful comments.

The two naming committees that will now winnow the lists and recommend finalists to the Pasco School Board won’t have an easy time of it. Some great ideas will not make the cut.

Words like “juniper,” “sky,” “dunes,” and “desert” were favorites with a lot of people. One respondent went even further and recommended a mascot in suggesting “Big Sky High School Yellowjackets.”

That person wrote, “Open skies to the north of the school and yellowjackets because we have no insects represented.” Fair enough, but the mascot question is for later.

Outdoorsy names are safe picks. It’s hard for anyone to get angry at the “Juniper Dunes.” But the chance to name a school comes along rarely, and the school board should do more with it.

Naming a school after a person serves as a reminder for future generations not just of that person’s legacy but also of community values.

The district has named more than a dozen schools after people. Most have been national figures such as Mark Twain, Marie Curie and Maya Angelou. Some have had strong local ties, though, such as educators Rowena Chess, Ruth Livingston and Virgie Robinson.

Some people nominated Arthur Fletcher, one of Pasco’s most brilliant stars, to become the namesake of a new school. He was a pioneering political figure who certainly deserves serious consideration, especially at this time.

Naming a school after Fletcher, a Black Republican who fought discrimination his entire life, would repudiate the racism that still lurks in our community and has deep roots in our history.

Vile views manifested most recently in the vandalism of a campaign sign for Irving Brown, a Black member of the Pasco City Council. It came with a message scrawled in black marker, “No N******* For Dist-3.”

Fletcher was the first Black person to serve on the Pasco City Council. He later became the first Black candidate for statewide office, running as the 1968 Republican nominee for Washington lieutenant governor.

He served in multiple presidential administrations. And he led the United Negro College Fund where he coined the slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Fletcher died in 2005.

There’s risk in choosing to honor a person. Someone held in high esteem today might fall out of favor in the future. Not so long ago, it would have been nearly inconceivable that schools, libraries and other institutions would drop the name Thomas Jefferson, but they have in the past few years.

That shouldn’t dissuade the school board. As hard as it is to imagine now, if someday a school’s namesake becomes problematic, a future school board can change it.

No one will forget our beautiful landscape and expansive sky. But future generations might well forget Arthur Fletcher and other local leaders who have done so much to move Pasco forward.

The school board can help them remember. In years to come students might ask, “Who was this Fletcher guy (or whoever) that our school is named after?” They’ll learn some valuable history when they look it up.