Committee to work on new name, mascot

Sewanhaka High School moving forward on changing from ‘Indians’

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Sewanhaka Superintendent James Grossane said the district will soon create a committee to move forward with changing the high school’s “Indian” nickname and mascot at the Tuesday night board of trustees meeting.

Also at the meeting, Elmont community members called for the resignation of Michael Jaime, president of the board, citing district vacancies and using a bus to attend an Obama Democracy Foundation event in New York City.

New York’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to ban the use of Native American mascots, team names, logos and depictions on April 18.

The resolution means Sewanhaka and other affected districts, including Manhasset, are required to “identify a plan to eliminate all use of the prohibited name, work, or mascot within a reasonable time, which shall be by no later than the end of the 2024-25 school year,” according to officials.

“We have established the parameters for creating a committee to discuss the requirements from the New York State Education Department to change the mascot of Sewanhaka High School from its current name of the Indians to determine a new mascot and nickname,” Grossane said. “We will surely be contacting current students, parents and alumni to form the committee and move forward with the task.”

The superintendent added there are funds set aside in the current budget to help begin the transition, which does not need to be completely fulfilled until next year. Grossane gave a rough estimate that updating the uniforms for grades seven to 12 would be approximately $200,000 and that the scoreboard and turf would need to be changed.

More historical items, such as the nearly 90-year-old mural in the high school’s cafeteria, can remain unchanged, Grossane said.

Sheldon Meikle, a former trustee on the Elmont School District Board of Education, raised concerns with Jaime regarding current vacancies in the district and his previous use of an Elmont school bus to travel to the Javitz Center in New York City for the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum.

No district students were on the bus for the event that former President Obama spoke at last November. Last board of education meeting, Jaime himself made a $600 donation to the district’s general fund budget, which Grossane said will be used to cover the invoice.

“Under your leadership, we have

Continued on Page 52

PAGES 19-22