By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
The Wausau School District is continuing discussions on the best choice for a mascot when East and West combine to form a single high school in 2025, with dozens of choices now on the list.
Some parents say communication has been problematic and confusing as the district prepares for the change. One central complaint: district officials have several times told parents that one option – Warjacks – was off the table, citing direction from the Wausau School Board.
That’s an issue, because board members say no such direction was given, and a review of board meeting minutes and agendas from July through Aug. 17 back up those statements.
On July 10, Board member Pat McKee, referring to a previous district email, said “I want it to be clear that the board, to my knowledge, unless I was in the wrong meeting, we did not make any decisions regarding the mascots…we never decided that.”
Another board member, Lance Trollop, agreed with McKee. Wausau Youth Hockey rebranded several years ago as the Warjacks, but the organization is not affiliated with the district.
But in an Aug. 17 email, district officials said again that they received direction from the Wausau School Board to leave Warjacks off the list. The two schools’ current mascots, Lumberjacks and Warriors, will not be used, nor will Cardinals, which was the former Wausau High School mascot and is now used by Newman.
Wausau Pilot & Review on Tuesday sent an email to district officials asking for clarification on the decision to leave Warjacks, which has emerged as a popular potential choice, off the list. That resulted in a course change from district officials, who now say they will discuss the matter with the hockey organization.
“The Wausau School District fully recognizes that Warjacks is a popular mascot suggestion for our newly merged junior and senior high schools,” said WSD Communications Coordinator Diana White. “If we can, we will absolutely bring the Warjacks name to our focus groups for discussion and consideration.”
That move was also communicated to parents in an email on Wednesday. The list of potential mascots is long, but could have been longer had the district not trimmed names they deemed unsuitable.
Still, some options – the Bridge Street Traffic Jammers and Nimrods among them – may raise some eyebrows.
Board President James Bouche said that while “Nimrods” made him laugh the first time he heard it, the name stems from a biblical figure mentioned in the Books of Genesis and Chronicles. Watersmeet, Mich. schools use the name, which has become popular in their community and was part of an eight-part documentary, Nimrod Nation, and an ESPN commercial.
“Like everyone else, I’m looking forward to seeing what the committee eventually brings to the table for the school board to contemplate,” Bouche said. “I am refraining from giving my likes or dislikes, because I am very interested in seeing what others have to say.”
The survey can be found at this link. After the survey closes, the next step is to form focus groups to narrow the search further.
