HAYS COUNTY, Texas (Talk1370.com) -- Hays CISD officials say they'll take the next step in recommending a change of the Rebel mascot at Hays High School, following a survey of the campus community.
According to the district, nearly 60 percent of the students and more than 70 percent of teachers and staff showed "little to no comfort" with the current mascot. More than 25 percent of the students and nearly a third of teachers and staff said they were "very uncomfortable" with the mascot.
"When a mascot mires the school in political controversy and pits students, families, and community members against each other; it is time to change," district officials said in a press release.
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Hays High has spent the last 20 years distancing itself from Confederate symbols. The school stopped using the Confederate flag as an official symbol in 2000, and banned its display on district property in 2012. In 2015, the school stopped using Dixie as its fight song.
"Because of the previous association with symbols of the Confederacy, the district now believes it would be impossible to rebrand the Hays High School Rebels and completely sever the mascot’s connection to Confederate imagery that is hurtful and hateful to many," district officials said.
According to the district, last week, 2,325 invitations were sent to students that would be in 9th through 12th grades at the campus during the 2020-21 school year. 1,152 students responded, officials said. Out of 265 teachers and staff members, 146 responded to a survey featuring the same questions as the students were asked.
The district's Board of Trustees will consider the recommendation, possibly as early as later this month. During the survey, students were asked to "write in" a suggested new mascot; this week, district officials said, students will receive a survey to vote on what they would like to see as the new mascot. Those responses will be provided to the Board of Trustees, should the board vote to change the mascot.
Among the new names being considered by students? The list includes Hawks, Hornets, Patriots, Cowboys, Eagles, Hurricanes, Hyenas, Phoenixes, Lions, Mavericks, Wildcats, Dragons, and Honey Badgers.
Officials said they don't yet have an estimate on what changing the mascot, including uniforms and signage, would cost the district.