Discussion To Continue On Renaming John Witherspoon School

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools Board of Education will be continuing to host discussions on renaming John Witherspoon Middle School despite misconceptions that the Board voted not to change the name.

The next public discussion will be held on Monday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. by the Equity Committee and the Equity Impact Statement. This will be the second discussion of the JW name change, the first meeting was held on June 22.

During the July 28 Board of Education meeting, Board member Debbie Bronfeld introduced a resolution to remove the name of John Witherspoon from the middle school as soon as possible. After much discussion from board members, it was decided it was too soon to take the name down without a proper replacement.

The resolution went up for a vote and failed with six board members voting it down, one abstaining and two voting for it including Bronfeld and Daniel Dart.

"I do not feel having John Witherspoon on the school reflects our mission and values. It is not the right symbol to represent the future, hopes, dreams, and aspirations of students today and tomorrow and I strongly endorse the process that the policy committee proposes to strongly consider a new name over the next couple months," said board member Brian McDonald.

McDonald was among the members who voted not to remove the name immediately but instead wanted to "engage the community in this very important matter."

The Board later sent out a statement to clarify their actions after another news outlet, Planet Princeton, wrote an article entitled, "Princeton school board rejects proposal to remove the name of John Witherspoon Middle School."

The board claimed this headline "mistakenly suggests that the Board voted not to change the name of John Witherspoon Middle School. The recording of the meeting shows that this is not at all what happened. The Board voted against a resolution to remove the name immediately, before public comment is complete."

The agenda and Zoom link for the next public meeting to discuss a new name for John Witherspoon Middle School will be available soon on the PPS website. The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome. Members of the public and community will have an opportunity to speak.

The discussion and meeting were promoted after a Princeton High School graduate, Geoffrey Allen, created a petition to rename John Witherspoon Middle School. Read More: Princeton To Discuss Renaming John Witherspoon Middle School

"I feel like renaming the school will be the start of symbolic change and allow more efforts to change the school," said Allen, a 2019 graduate.

Allen's petition has just under 1,500 signatures.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.