By CHARLENE PAUL
Moapa Valley Progress
Mack Lyon Middle School in Overton may soon be festooned with all new colors. And the Mustang mascot may also soon be a thing of the past. Over the past year, the school has considered undergoing a major branding change, and that process is quickly coming to a conclusion.
The process was actually begun by a student at Mack Lyon. During the 2018-19 school year, student Alyssa Jolley presented a proposal to the Lyon School Organizational Team (SOT). Jolley was testing the waters on changing the school colors to blue and gold, and on choosing a new mascot that would better align with the community theme set by the Moapa Valley High School Pirates and the Grant Bowler Elementary Buccaneers.
Jolley’s case was compelling. Members of the SOT said they were in favor of exploring what it would take to make the change.
Shortly after that, a survey went out to the students, teachers, and community. The results were generally positive. Most of the feedback was decidedly in favor of the change, according to Lyon principal Ken Paul.
“There were a few that were against it, but it was mainly because they were worried about cost,” Paul said.
Paul emphasized that funding is indeed a valid concern. There is limited district funding available to rebrand the school.
“From the beginning, we made it very clear that we would need community help with funding these changes,” said Paul. “We have a little money in our site-based funds and there is some money in our maintenance budget that can be used. But the majority of the funding will have to come from private donations, community donations, and fundraising efforts. The most expensive changes will be changing the gym floor and painting.”
With those limitations in mind, however, the idea was allowed to move forward. The next step was to present the proposal to Paul’s immediate supervisor at the CCSD central offices in Las Vegas.
The color change was approved without any problem. And the concept of a new mascot was also approved. But just what the new mascot should be is still more of an open question.
The students had initially proposed changing the mascot from Mustangs to Marauders. This was chosen to follow the Pirate/Buccaneer theme in the community. But CCSD officials said that district policy emphasizes that new school mascots must portray a positive image. The idea of Marauders seemed to have too much of a negative connotation to be within that policy, Paul said.
Since that time, a number of possible mascots have been proposed by students and other stakeholders at the school. These have been narrowed to several possible options including Mack Lyon Mariners, Mack Lyon Navigators, Mack Lyon Cadets, Mack Lyon Bluejackets, Mack Lyon Captains, Mack Lyon Seafarers, and Mack Lyon Windjammers.
Paul said he is eager to hear feedback and ideas from the community about the new mascot ideas. He also welcomes questions, concerns, or suggestions about the change from the general Moapa Valley public.
“Since this endeavor cannot come to fruition without community-wide support, we want community input on the new mascot,” explained Paul.
Paul said that the school administration has been very methodical and transparent in the process of this change.
“From the time the proposal was made, it was decided not to rush the process,” said Paul. “It was important to know that we had the community’s support.”
Paul plans to move forward with the proposal. He hopes to be able to implement all of the changes for the 2020/21 school year.
“For me, the most important thing isn’t that we change the colors or the mascot,” said Paul. “The important thing is that the proposed change was initiated by the students, and they understood they would have to follow a process. There was no guarantee that the outcome would be in their favor. Through the course of this process, they have followed procedure and conducted themselves in a professional manner.”
When asked what she thought of the proposal’s progress, Jolley said, “The change is very exciting to me so far. I can’t believe it is really happening! It’s crazy to think what just one comment can do for your school.”
To give feedback, make suggestions or ask questions about this process, call the Lyon Middle School at 702-397-8610 to speak with Paul.
