What's in a name for a new school?

More than 400 years ago, Shakespeare penned some very wise words about names. While Juliet struggled to decide whether to give up being a Capulet to be with her beloved Romeo, the most famous author of all time asked:

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Really? Shakespeare would have a hard time convincing the McCook Board of Education that names don't matter. Now that the $5.8 million bond issue has been approved, the board has the responsibility of coming up with a name for McCook's new single site school for kindergarten through third grade pupils.

So what do you think? What should the board name the new school for the lower elementary grades? No, this is not a life or death issue, but it is an important point of pride for a community that respects its heritage.

So, to get the dialogue going, let's talk about what an appropriate name would be for the new, expanded grade school building. The 17,000-square-foot structure will be built at the North Ward site. Since there is no longer a West Ward, and East Ward will be phased out next year, it will no longer be necessary, nor appropriate, to refer to the new school as North Ward.

So what should we call the school instead? The original suggestion was McCook Elementary, but that would not be entirely descriptive as McCook has another grade school: Central Elementary.

Still, McCook Elementary would work, as would a number of other titles if they were embraced by the school system and community. A member of the McCook Board of Education, Mike Gonzales, has suggested Frank B. Morrison School in honor of the former Nebraska governor who lived in McCook and was a strong supporter of public school education. Gov. Morrison, who was 98, passed away earlier this year.

In the same vein as the Morrison name, three other former senators and governors -- Norris, Brooks and Nelson -- also would be fitting titles for the school. And -- going back to the earliest days of McCook -- it would be proper historically to revive the Valentine name, which served for many years as the name for East Ward. McCook's superintendent of schools from 1889 until 1898, William Valentine was revered for his high ethical standards and his love of learning.

In the next few months, the school and the community will need to decide. As a means of generating discussion, the Gazette will be conducting a poll on our Web site: www.mccookgazette.com. What name do you favor for McCook's new school? And, if you don't like any of the suggestions, what name would you propose instead?

The online voting for name preferences will not be a scientific sampling, but the Gazette poll could help get the community talking about the school naming issue. Ideas, anyone?