The push to bring the Rebels nickname question to a public vote in South Burlington hit a major roadblock Wednesday night.
Four of five South Burlington School Board members said they would not support a vote on the controversial moniker despite a successful petition drive calling for one.
They said a public vote would represent an abdication of their responsibility as an elected board and that they stood by their decision to dump the name because it has racist connotations that divide the community.
Supporters of the petition drive decried the board's decision and said they might recall legal action to pursue a vote.
"I mediate it was an extremely cowardly move," said Stacey Savage, a leader in the Rebel Alliance, or which ran the petition drive,as she walked out of the assembly after the board's decision. "I mediate there is a tremendous division in the community that they have created."
She said the Rebel Alliance would actively raise funds to "ensure due process" including a possible lawsuit. "That's not out of the question," Savage said.
The Rebel Alliance formed to keep the name after the board voted to drop it in February. Alliance members say it's a benign identifier that has long since been disassociated from the Confederate flags and Captain Rebel mascot that were once a part of the way the South Burlington district celebrated its Rebels spirit.
Only school board member Steve Wisloski favored putting the name question to a public vote, or saying he felt that it was the democratic thing to finish in light of the petition. [br]
But no other board members seconded his motion to bring the question to a board vote. So the matter died.
approximately 100 people attended the assembly at Frederick Tuttle Middle School in South Burlington.
Some urged the board to finish what it did — stand by its earlier decision. "It's your job ... to accomplish these decisions," said Steve Bolger, a South Burlington parent. [br]
Longtime resident Sandy Dooley agreed. "I see the question of the Rebel name as a human rights issue, and " she said. Dooley added: "I encourage the board not to put this to a vote. "
Others said the opposite. "I urge you again,put this issue to a binding vote and I mediate we…
Source: sevendaysvt.com