Naming rights question comes before the Dixon Public Schools Board

DIXON – Dixon Public Schools will vote in January on a policy to guide it when there are requests to name buildings or places therein.

The item emerged when Superintendent Margo Empen informed the board that the district’s attorney had fielded a request from someone in the community wishing to name the playing surface or something in the vicinity of the court at Lancaster Gymnasium.

Empen asked board members to share thoughts and concerns about naming or renaming school property or the need for a policy that future boards could rely upon.

One of the recommendations many schools use is that naming should not be considered for at least five years after an honoree’s death, Empen said.

Empen was quick to point out, however, that if such a policy had been in place, “we wouldn’t have had the wonderful experience with Jim Wiltz to name the auditorium when was he was still alive.”

That ceremony took place in 2017.

[ Auditorium dedicated to former Dixon teacher and choral director. ]

The same was true of Coach Rich Lawton, for whom the track and field course is named.

Board member Jon Wadsworth said the board should be discussing the legacy and contribution of any nominee.

Board President Linda Wegner said that by waiting, time might reveal any questions about a nominee’s character or any skeletons in the closet.

Empen said the policy also could include an amendment that the district retains the right to remove the name at any time.

In the case of renaming a place, board member Brandon Rogers brought up whether there should be a grace period – a time frame in which a name should stand before renaming should even be considered. What is an appropriate amount of time, out of respect, he said.

Empen asked whether anyone knew who A. H. Lancaster was. When no one on the board replied, Empen said he was a superintendent and building administrator.

“That was one of the things, as a school professional, you go: They deserve to be up there,” she said.

Lancaster, in fact, was principal when the present Dixon High School opened in 1929, after the north and south high schools both closed and the student bodies consolidated.

Wegner said that as board president, she would like a policy to fall back on.

“We shouldn’t be doing this all the time,” she said. “It should be a special request.”