To the editor:

The comments — printed, blogged or otherwise communicated — regarding the possibility of renaming our junior highs when they become middle schools next year have been fascinating. They provide evidence that many people do not understand the complexity of education funding in Kansas and that money spent on signs at our four middle schools will come from the capital outlay fund, which cannot be used for teacher salaries, books or instructional supplies.

The Lawrence area is rich in history, unique geographical features and tradition. Elementary and high schools have names from these sources, but our schools serving the age group in between are named for directions that were accurate in the last century. They now have limited relevancy to the schools’ locations.

If the committees studying the names for our middle schools recommend new (or altered) names, there will be a change in lettering on the signs at our middle schools. If they recommend continuing to use directions as names, there will be a change in lettering on the signs at our middle schools. They will be different schools next year and need accurate signage.

School mascots will remain the same. Uniforms will wear out and need to be replaced, but that schedule will not be accelerated. Those who serve on the naming committees are not paid for that service. Perhaps their compensation or reward is the sense of being part of the history of the school, a sensation that can be shared by survey respondents also. Go Mustangs! Go Warhawks! Go Cougars! Go Bulldogs!