© 2024 Kansas Public Radio

91.5 FM | KANU | Lawrence, Topeka, Kansas City
96.1 FM | K241AR | Lawrence (KPR2)
89.7 FM | KANH | Emporia
99.5 FM | K258BT | Manhattan
97.9 FM | K250AY | Manhattan (KPR2)
91.3 FM | KANV | Junction City, Olsburg
89.9 FM | K210CR | Atchison
90.3 FM | KANQ | Chanute

See the Coverage Map for more details

FCC On-line Public Inspection Files Sites:
KANU, KANH, KANV, KANQ

Questions about KPR's Public Inspection Files?
Contact General Manager Feloniz Lovato-Winston at fwinston@ku.edu
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kansas School Districts Find Ditching Offensive Mascots Costs Money

The word "Redskins" on Wichita North High School's basketball court will be painted over after the Wichita district dropped the controversial name. (Photo by Suzanne Perez, KMUW)
The word "Redskins" on Wichita North High School's basketball court will be painted over after the Wichita district dropped the controversial name. (Photo by Suzanne Perez, KMUW)

What does it cost a school district to replace an offensive mascot?

Some Kansas schools are starting to find out.

Wichita school board members  voted in February to get rid of the controversial Redskins mascot at North High School.

They learned recently that replacing athletic uniforms, painting over a gym floor and retrofitting the marching band could cost upward of $400,000.

Renderings of North High's new baseball uniforms. (Courtesy of USD 259)

 
The board approved the first phase of expenditures in March, voting to spend $350,000 on new uniforms for the football, baseball and softball teams, and other student activities.

Terrell Davis, executive director of public affairs and special projects for the Wichita district, led a committee that recommended changing North’s mascot.

He said removing the Redskins' name from school uniforms and property will take time. The old mascot — in either words or images — appears on debate team blazers, bowling team jerseys, swimming pool flags, scoreboards and more.

“We did an evaluation of all the uniforms they had to see where the term ‘Redskin’ was on,” Davis said. “And so to remove those things is what we’re working towards.

“We also looked at where people were at in terms of their normal rotation of uniforms,” he said.

Buying lots of uniforms at once resulted in some discounts, Davis said. Spending approved in March also included a new wrestling mat.

The Wichita school district says removing the Redskins name from North High uniforms and property will take time and could cost around $400,000. (Photo by Suzanne Perez, KMUW)

 
A new gymnasium built as part of the Wichita district’s 2008 bond issue features North High’s new logo in the center — a red-and-white letter “N” with a Native American drum and feather. But stripes on either end of the basketball court say “Redskins” in large letters.

As part of the mascot changes, those words will be painted over and the floor named in honor of Lynette Woodard, a North High graduate and basketball Hall-of-Famer.

The Shawnee Mission school district in Johnson County approved a new policy in January  barring mascots deemed derogatory or offensive.

To comply with the policy, Shawnee Mission North High and three elementary schools dropped mascots that referenced Native Americans. Shawnee Mission North announced earlier this month that  it would replace its former “Indians” mascot with “Bison.”

District spokesman David A. Smith said the district is beginning to develop logos and branding for the new mascots but doesn’t yet have projected costs for the overhaul.

Sheril Logan, a member of the Wichita school district, said during a recent meeting that the cost of new uniforms, equipment and renovations are necessary.

“We want to make sure we remove all of the places where that name is,” Logan said.

-30-

Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.   The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of Kansas Public Radio, KCUR, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.

Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to  ksnewsservice.org .
 

The Kansas News Service produces essential enterprise reporting, diving deep and connecting the dots in tracking the policies, issues and and events that affect the health of Kansans and their communities. The team is based at KCUR and collaborates with public media stations and other news outlets across Kansas. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org. The Kansas News Service is made possible by a group of funding organizations, led by the Kansas Health Foundation. Other founders include United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Sunflower Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.