The future name of our school has become unclear, with a December 1st school board meeting deciding that the school name should return to Analy. Many students and parents have made their opinion on this matter clear, and it has created a divide within the community. 

On November 10th, 2021 a regularly scheduled board meeting came to order. This day, the Analy Alumni association, large donors to the school district, made it clear that they did not want the name of West County for the school. The organization, with over 4.7k members on Facebook, threatened to remove their funding from the school if the board retained the name of West County. The Analy alumni association gives the high school an average of 45,000 dollars. This year our school board has spent $200,000 on the rebranding from Analy to West County. 

Shortly after the Analy Alumni association made this statement, the administration at the high school sent out a student survey. This survey asked students one question: Which name would you prefer for the school? Analy, West County, Other, or Abstain. 52% of students chose to go back to the name Analy High School. “I really do feel bad for the El Molino Community, having to leave their campus and the legacy of their school behind. But I don’t think that we should also be destroying the legacy of Analy High School. A great loss to our community has already occurred with leaving behind El Molino, I don’t think losing another legacy is the way to fix this. Analy has been around for over a hundred years, and I think its legacy should live on,” a twelfth grader at the high school shared.

On December 1st the board decided to return to the name Analy. This sparked protest from both students and teachers alike, provoking a student-wide walk out on December 2nd. At 11:10, ten minutes into fourth period, hundreds of students walked out of the high school. Leadership students led a march down to the town square, leading cheers in red white and blue spirit shirts. Meghan Hartsock, an 11th grader at the walk-out stated, “The sheer fact that last night’s board meeting made us so unrepresented we feel that we have to protest is a shame on the school board.” A 12th grader at the high school who preferred to remain anonymous gave this insight, “I admire the thought that was put into changing the name to West County High, but I don’t think the school board ever intended for that name to stick. It was a placeholder, a lie towards the El Molino community to get them to come to the Analy campus with less of a fight.” The feeling of being underrepresented by the school board has become a theme over the last year, consolidation and the name change have left groups of community members feeling left out. 

The situation is being monitored by our editorial staff, and any changes will be reported.