TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County School Board is revisiting school mascots on Tuesday.
- School board to discuss school mascots
- Students and parents voice opposition to changes at board meeting
- Bay area school mascot changes continue national trend
There is a board meeting today to take up the issue again.
Board members had paused on any decisions on the matter last week following public comments from students and parents upset about mascot changes at Brooker Elementary in Brandon.
In May, the district made a move to allow changes to some Native American mascots. But school board members say they weren't part of that decision-making process.
Working with a parent advisory group representing the Native American community, all six schools have committed to choosing a new mascot for the future.
- READ: Maryland CNS study of schools removing mascots
- LINK: National Congress of American Indians opposition to mascots
- READ: Supreme Court ruling on offensive trademarks
- RELATED: Hillsborough Schools Planning Native American Mascot Changes
The five elementary schools and one middle school are Adams Middle School, Brooker Elementary, Forest Hills Elementary, Ruskin Elementary, Summerfield Elementary and Thonotosassa Elementary. Adams has been the Warriors, while Thonotosassa has been Chiefs and Summerfield has been the Indians. The elementary schools: Forest Hills, Brooker and Ruskin were all Braves.
School officials said Chamberlain High (Chiefs) and East Bay High (Indians) will keep their mascot names but modify rituals to be less insensitive.
A parent advisory committee that represents Native Americans says the mascots are plain offensive and the school district needs to change them.
"It reduces a whole race of people it reduces 498 sovereign nations down to a rabbits foot," said Jaymie Perez with the Parent Advisory Commitee.
"If you look at Webster’s dictionary, it is a mascot is something that is chosen an animal or something like that that is chosen to bring the group good luck I’m native American and I am not a mascot."
The committee is schduled to make a presentation to the board. Public comments are scheduled for 3:30 p.m.