Melfort’s high school is asking for the community’s thoughts on a name change.
The Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate has been called that since it opened in 1967.
Jerry Heffernan, the principal, said there was discussion about changing the name back in 2006 when the Northeast school divisions were merged into the North East School Division.
“The name ‘Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate’, the name ‘and Unit’ part of it no longer embodies our reality anymore,” he said.
Back then, the school community council wasn’t interested in a name change.
“We were doing some work around rebranding our school this past fall and so the conversation came up again about the name,” Heffernan said.
So the school is surveying parents online about a possible change using the division’s ThoughtExchange program.
“We’ve never taken it to our larger community. Inside the school, we discussed it with both the staff and students,” Heffernan said. “We’re interested in our larger community feedback on this and then we’ll see where this goes.”
The principal said the school community council is ambivalent about changing the name.
“They just weren’t worried about it one way or the other.”
If there was a change, the most likely name would be Melfort Comprehensive High School. There’s no consideration about naming it after a person.
The results of the survey are expected in April or May. The data collected will be sent to the division’s education board, who will then make a decision.
