Cardinal BOE OK’s School Name Change
As Cardinal Middle School transforms into a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school, it will also have a new name.
As Cardinal Middle School transforms into a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school, it will also have a new name.
Cardinal Schools Board of Education voted unanimously May 8 to rename the building at 16175 Alameda Drive Cardinal Elementary School.
The decision between Cardinal Elementary School and Jordak Elementary School was made following a survey to which 199 individuals responded, said board President Linda Smallwood.
“The survey results were very, very close. The majority of our current parents, students and staff voted for Cardinal Elementary (School),” she said.
Community members who did not identify as students, parents or staff numbered 11. Nine of those who took the survey and 60 of 75 alumni who responded were in favor of Jordak Elementary School, according to the survey chart she handed out.
Of the current student/parent/staff responses, 73 of 113 favored Cardinal Elementary School, it showed.
The final tally was 91 responses favoring Cardinal and 108 favoring Jordak, according to the hand out.
“I was hoping the survey would be more clear. We are being asked to choose between students, parents and staff versus our alumni and history,” said board member Kristen Klepper. “I just want the community and alumni to know we hear you, we see you, we acknowledge you.”
Smallwood emphasized the survey was not a vote for the name, but was an opinion check.
Due to the support for including Jordak in the name, there is potential for a “history hall” at the new school, she said.
“I’d like to make sure we do something to acknowledge the legacy of AJ Jordak,” Klepper said, offering to take the lead on the Huskie history hall.
Board member Anita Marlowe supported the idea.
“It’s important to acknowledge that a lot of people contributed to Cardinal, to remember Parkman and Huntsburg are part (of the history),” she said, adding the history hall should include pictures of all the schools.
“We should keep our history intact,” she said.
Due to decreasing enrollment, the board voted over the last few years to combine the student population of Cardinal Intermediate and Jordak Elementary schools on East High Street and move grades Kindergarten through sixth to the middle school building on Alameda.
Grades seventh through 12th will be housed at the neighboring high school on Thompson Avenue.
The former CIS was bought by All Around Children daycare and preschool, which had its grand opening last week. According to the district’s three-year plan, JES may be sold. The plan also includes moving the board of education offices to the high school.
In other business, the board voted to contract with EdTech of Simi Valley, Calif., to handle the district’s IT program for 37 months for $268,250 in quarterly payments.
The education technology company will provide an IT director, a technology programs manager, a network operations engineer, onsite technical resources, Chromebook management and supplemental staff, according to the online agenda.
The board also voted to contract with Ravenwood Mental Health to pay $101,546 per year for three therapeutic behavioral health support workers for students in kindergarten through grade 12 identified as needing those services.
