“Every border is open”
by Clarke Davis
The USD 340 school board has undertaken a project to rebrand the district at a cost of nearly $47,000 with Mammoth of Meriden. The first hitch appears to be that no one likes the new tiger logo.
The controversy brought more than 100 district residents to the Aug. 14 school board meeting in Meriden for the purpose of voicing their objections.
Board President Dave Jensen began the meeting by setting some guidelines and limiting speakers to three minutes, but then let the public have the floor for over 90 minutes.
What does the district get for its money?
While $50,000 is the amount tossed around, the actual contract spans two years at $1,950 a month for a total of $46,800.
Mammoth’s brand development department will develop the brand and a communications plan along with community and recruiting videos, and a brand launch video.
A “Tiger Alum Discount” of $40,000 is being provided toward the cost of the brand launch video.
Why is the district rebranding itself?
President Jensen explained that the district has had five or more tiger logos over the years and that the board wants one consistent logo and brand in order to better promote the district.
A new Kansas law now in effect allows parents to enroll their children in any public school no matter where they reside. School districts have to accept the students, provided they have the room to do so.
This opens the door to recruiting students to attend Jefferson West.
Therefore the objectives are:
• Increase enrollment
• Develop brand continuity throughout the district
• Build awareness of USD 340 as the premier school district.
• Utilize emotional storytelling to communicate to diverse interest groups
• Garner commitment of key stakeholders for increased support
What are the greatest concerns the public has?
A variety of people spoke to the board including students, parents, and grandparents. Some complained about a lack of transparency on the part of the school board and a failure to put forth some alternatives to the logo so the public could weigh in.
One person said the tiger logo looked “demonic” and they liked the look of the old “J” and “W.”
One person wanted to just shut down the process of rebranding,while another praised the board by saying, “I love the fact that we’re finally going to get something consistent like many other schools have.”
Another said it was “sad and kind of scary” that even though the kids were asked their thoughts and opinions — and given a look at the new logo — they weren’t listened to.
“So even though they say it’s about the students, why would the students’ opinions not be worth the consideration?” the person asked.
One man tried to intimate that the president had a conflict of interest regarding Mammoth, suggesting that the company sponsored his child’s ball team and that he had received money from the firm.
Jensen responded by saying he had received one check from Mammoth for something (possibly services rendered), but donated the money to the Jefferson West Foundation.
What is the board’s greatest concern?
Jensen said that until last year enrollment had been on a steady decline year after year “and then it sped up with COVID.”
“The landscape of public education has changed significantly because of that,” he said. “There are other outlets for individuals whether it be at home . . . or online.”
“It’s absolutely unfortunate that our legislature has turned public education into a business. Everyone is going to fight the numbers, because every border is open,” Jensen said.
“If we were to continue on a steady decline, we cannot afford the staff we have,” the board president said. “I hope when we leave here we understand that the motivation to do this is to be able to sustain the district as we’ve all known it all these years — because until last year it was not looking good.”
“The sole purpose behind all of this is not to change the look, it is to promote the strength of the district to maintain enrollment so that we can keep it the way that you’ve all come accustomed to,” he said.
