School board member-elect Rhonda Lennon.

By LAURIE DENNIS
DavidsonNews.net
Rhonda Lennon is still two weeks away from being sworn in as the new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education representative from District 1, which includes north Mecklenburg. But the school board member-elect is already drafting motions. Ms. Lennon says one of her first priorities will be seeking to change the name of the area’s newest high school.

Ms. Lennon intends to call for a school board vote Dec. 8 to reverse the board’s November decision to name the new high school in Cornelius for William A. Hough and to put the late educator’s name instead on the stadium at North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville.

That would reopen the question of what to call the new high school on Bailey Road, which is scheduled to open its doors next September.

Ms. Lennon told DavidsonNews.net that she would like to reconvene the 20-member naming committee that proposed the Hough name as its top choice.  She would ask the committee to come up with three new name options, and have those options sent out to the two middle schools (Bailey and Bradley) and two high schools (North Meck and Hopewell) that will be sending students to the new school.  Families at those four schools would then be asked to vote on their top choice and report the result back to the school board by its January meeting.

“This is the process that was followed when Torrence Creek and Barnette opened and was what the public expected,” she said, referring to two elementary schools in Huntersville, typing her response on her Blackberry while on vacation.

THE CONTROVERSY

Ms. Lennon’s proposal is the latest move in a controversy that has developed since the school board’s 7-1 vote in favor of a CMS naming committee’s top choice of Hough High.

On one side are a group of mostly new residents of the area who claim the Hough name would be mispronounced or abused in ways that would embarrass their children if they attended the school.  (According to the Urban Dictionary, one meaning of the word “ho” is street slang for a prostitute. William A. Hough’s surname is correctly pronounced to rhyme with “tough.”)

On the other side are many long-time residents who say Mr. Hough is a symbol of unity and fairness who had an important impact on the north Mecklenburg area and deserves to be honored.

“Some people are upset because of the possibility of the mispronunciation from Hough High to ‘Ho’ High, or to ‘huff’ (a possible substance abuse reference), and the possibility that the naming process was flawed,” wrote Janet Wirostek, president of the Bailey Middle PTA in a letter to the editor opposed to the new name.

“My husband went to North Meck HS and he gives great credit to Mr. Hough for teaching him many things you do not learn in books about right and wrong and respect and integrity,” said Alice Oehler in an email to all school board members in support of the Hough name.  Ms. Oehler is the great-granddaughter of John Bailey, for whom Bailey Road is named.  The new school sits on the former Bailey family farm. “Keep the name of a man who gave back to his community unselfishly.”

The issue has divided PTA boards and filled email in-boxes across the county.  Opponents of the Hough name have called the naming process unfair, proponents have ridiculed the idea that slang terms should be a criteria for deciding on a school name.

“I can understand the concerns that are being expressed but it is a shame that the gentleman may not be honored because of the connotation,” said Betty Harrington, principal of J.M. Morehead High School in Eden, N.C., which has a school library named after Mr. Hough’s brother, a former school superintendent in Rockingham County. “Our school is named after John Motley Morehead. We have had to endure some harassment because of sexual references to the last name. We just ignore that and act with the class that the name represents.”

Morehead High is named after a 19th-century governor of the state, known as “the Father of Modern North Carolina.”

Mr. Hough, who died in 1998, was known as “Mr. North Meck” and was principal of North Meck High from 1955-74, guiding the school through first the consolidation of the county/Charlotte school systems and then the integration of high schools in this area, which involved transferring students at the all-black Torrence-Lytle High (now the Waymer Center in Huntersville) into the mostly white North Meck High. (Click here to see our previous coverage of Mr. Hough’s background.)

The Hough family has been taken by surprise by the name pronunciation controversy.

“It was never an issue for us,” said Ruth Anne Cresenzo, who is named for Mr. Hough’s wife, Ruth, a teacher.

Ms. Cresenzo added that, ironically, her grandfather was known for his polite speech.

“It’s not just that he didn’t cuss,” she said.  “I never heard him say an ugly word about anybody.  If he were here today, I know exactly what he’d say (if concerns were brought up about slang meanings related to his surname).  He’d say, ‘Let’s not talk about this any more.’ ”

THE PROCESS

Changing the name of William A. Hough High School would require support by a majority of the nine-member school board, and many emails have been sent advising board members to either seek a less controversial school name or stick with the original vote.

Board Member Kaye McGarry, who holds one of three at-large seats, told DavidsonNews.net that she would support the position of the District 1 rep, or Rhonda Lennon.

Board Member Tom Tate, who was just re-elected to represent District 4 (east Charlotte), said he has gotten “quite a few” emails on the subject in recent days, and thinks opinions are “tilting toward wanting to change the name.”  Mr. Tate voted in favor of the naming committee’s recommendation of Hough High and said he does not, at this point, feel inclined to support a motion to revisit the matter.

“I did not know Mr. Hough, but this seems like a wonderful way to honor the man,” he said.

If Ms. Lennon does not get support for her planned motion, the name of “William A. Hough High” would stand. Board Member Joe White, who also holds an at-large seat, sounded skeptical that there would be five votes in favor of a change.

“It would not get Joe White’s vote,” he said.  “I’m ready to move on and let’s start educating the kids.”

Mr. White also said “the process was followed to the nth degree” and therefore does not need to be revisited.  However, the process is what opponents to the Hough name have been questioning.

Davidson Elementary parent Leane Turner said she does not find the naming process sufficiently transparent and thinks the school board did not listen to objections raised prior to their vote.

“It seems there was also very little time or opportunity provided for community input after the selections were narrowed to three,” she explained in an email.

Several who attended a coffee session with Ms. McGarry Nov. 12 at Summit Coffee in Davidson voiced concerns about whether the naming committee acted fairly.

The School Name Advising Committee consisted of 20 parents, students, educators and school members, led by Dr. Terri Cockerham, principal of the new school.  (Click here to see a list of the committee members.) They considered about 30 names that had been gathered during the public comment period over the summer and early fall, tossing out such suggestions as “Way North High” and pondering historical names like Bill Lee, a former president of Duke Power, and geographical names like Cowan’s Ford, the site of a Revolutionary War battle and the location of today’s Cowan’s Ford Dam on Lake Norman.

The committee narrowed its list to a handful of finalists, and from that list came the top three names: Hough, Unity and Rocky River, listed in order of preference.  These three names were forwarded to the school board, which approved the committee’s top choice of Hough High.

Ronda Freese of Cornelius, the mother of a student from Hopewell High who served on the naming committee, has been one of the leaders of opposition to the Hough name, and addressed the school board prior to its vote, saying the name will be abused and is too controversial.  (Ms. Freese could not be reached for an interview with DavidsonNews.net.)

She told the school board that she fears for “the humiliation that a high-achieving student will face receiving regional or national attention, only to have their moment of accomplishment overshadowed by the announcement that they attended ‘Ho’ High.”

Those with misgivings about the Hough name often stress that they respect Mr. Hough and would like to see him honored in some other way, perhaps with a scholarship in his name or with another building on campus named for him.

Ed Conway, a member of the School Leadership Team at Bailey Middle, has proposed a compromise: Using “Unity” or “Bailey” for the high school, but placing a sign out front that reads “In Honor of W.A. Hough” and naming the new school’s stadium after him.

Davidson Mayor John Woods, a member of the naming committee, does not think such options would be a fair compromise.

“I would view that as a violation of the process,” he said.  “It’s problematic to go through a process and then attack the process because you don’t like the results.”

LIST NARROWED TO THREE

Mr. Woods said he volunteered to be on the naming committee, but did not have any involvement in the makeup of its other members.

“I had nothing to do with asking anyone to serve,” he said.

Mr. Woods said he started to think about what the new school should be named when construction moved forward and the building began to rise from its foundation in the woods along Bailey Road.  He checked with long-time residents of the area, talked with his fellow Rotarians, and consulted with the Davidson College archivist.  This led to his advocacy for the name of W.A. Hough, whom Mr. Woods, a member of the North Meck Class of 1968, remembers vividly.

“In addition to the manner in which he helped all students and parents handle the issues of racial integration in 1966, Mr. Hough was a selfless man whose care for ALL students was very obvious,” he wrote in a letter to the editor about why he preferred the name.

Mr. Woods said that he addressed the naming committee, telling them of why he favored the Hough name.  Others spoke in favor of different finalists, including Torrence-Lytle, the name of the all-black high school that was closed in 1966 as part of the integration of North Meck.  Torrence-Lytle was named for two prominent African-American educators, Isaiah Dale “Ike” Torrence and Franklin Lytle.

Terri Heskett was one of the five members of the committee designated as a “parent” of a student who would be able to attend the new high school.  Describing herself as a new transplant to the area, Ms. Heskett said she had never heard of Mr. Hough before she took part in the naming committee work and did not come to the table with any particular preferences.

“I thought the committee was very well run and very well organized,” she said.  The name of William A. Hough “wasn’t my top choice, but I wasn’t opposed to his name either.”

She is aware of the pronunciation controversy but said she continues to support the naming committee’s work and final results.

“I support the high school, no matter what its name is, and I think it’s going to be a great school, and I wish the entire community would support it.”

Ms. Heskett, besides being a parent of a student at Bailey Middle, is also a member of the school’s PTA, serving as vice president for fund-raising.  She said she was dismayed to see the PTA president, Ms. Wirostek, send out a mass email to school families with the subject heading “Please Rethink Hough High for the New High School on Bailey Road (Pros and Cons).”

“The PTA is neutral,” Ms. Heskett stressed. “There are people on the PTA on both sides of this issue.”

Ms. Wirostek later apologized by email to “the Bailey PTA Board and Membership if it appeared that our PTA was taking a position.” (See that apology here.) She remains personally opposed to using the Hough name on the new school.

MOVING FORWARD

Many parents have expressed exasperation that, of all the issues in our schools today, mispronunciation of the Hough name is what has garnered the most media and parent attention.

“If the energy invested in this process and discussion had been funneled to the positive for something that affects us all – the world and North Mecklenburg would be a far better place!” exclaimed Davidson Elementary PTA President Beth Cashion.

One of her predecessors as PTA president, Lynn Hennighausen, reiterated that sentiment.

“We are not modeling good behavior for our children,” Ms. Hennighausen said. “We need to be done with this and move on.”