‘Wildcats’ may soon go extinct as mascot
UPDATE: The survey mentioned in this story may be completed HERE. The district's form requires each respondent to provide his or her email address. In addition, the schools have scheduled a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the middle school cafeteria for those wishing to express an opinion.
Staff writer
The Marion–Florence school district will consider dropping the “Wildcats” name for its middle school teams and instead use the high school’s “Warriors” moniker.
“Wildcats” was Florence High School’s name before the school consolidated with Marion in 1971.
While the consolidated USD 408 kept “Warriors” as its high school name, “Wildcats” was used for middle school as a tribute to Florence.
Before consolidation, “Braves” was the nickname for Marion junior high teams.
In the name of simplification, the school board now seems likely to bin the Wildcat name.
Kelsey Metro, principal of the middle school, said her staff began to consider a rebrand after a student asked whether the middle school could be Warriors too.
“We’re ‘once a Warrior, always a Warrior,’” Metro said, “except for the three years in middle school when they’re Wildcats.”
It would not cost the school much time or money to scrap the Wildcat name, Metro said.
A lot of decorations in the middle school building already say “Marion” rather than “Wildcats.”
Similarly, most middle school athletic attire lacks the Wildcat name or logo.
“We have had students bring it up, and we’ve discussed it as faculty,” Metro said. “It’s something that we would like to propose as an option.”
She plans to survey parents, staff, students, and other community members for input.
“Even if you look at it as parents buying gear for their kids, it’s a huge expense,” Metro said. “You buy it as a sixth-grader, you’re buying three years of stuff that you pray your next child will wear so you can keep it a little bit longer. Or you forgo the whole experience and don’t get any Wildcat gear.”
Board members seemed enthusiastic about the idea when it was presented to them at a meeting Monday morning.
“It’s an important step for unity across the district, and making students feel welcome at every building level,” Jillian Edmundson said.
Board president Nick Kraus said he had spoken to a former board member from Florence and was positive about the change.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal,” he said. “It’s been 25 years since the middle school moved up here.”
The board will review the survey results before potentially scheduling a forum to discuss the change.
If it goes through, it will be made official at the start of the 2025 school year.
Kraus and Superintendent Justin Wasmuth acknowledged that the change might upset some Florence residents.
“We’re not naive and think it’s going to be 100% agreed upon,” said Wasmuth.
Asked whether it would upset people, Kraus responded: “It will.”
At the start of the meeting, the board accepted the resignation of member Steven Janzen.
Vice president Jan Helmer made the motion to accept the resignation, adding that Janzen “will be missed.”
Janzen was not at the meeting.
Kraus said Janzen resigned because he was looking for a teaching job after completing his teaching degree.
“We had a retirement, and he was going to apply for that,” Kraus said. “He can’t be on the board [while] going through that process.”
The board is soliciting applications for the vacated seat.
After the meeting, the board toured the middle and elementary schools. Members dropped into various classrooms and looked over maintenance issues, such as a damaged gutter system and a leak that made a small area of the elementary gym floor soft.
“This has got to get fixed at some point,” Wasmuth said of the leak.