Kaye McGarry
Kaye McGarry, a member-at-large on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, will be at Davidson’s Summit Coffee Thursday morning, 7:30-9 a.m., as part of her regular “about town” visits.
“I will be available to discuss school-related issues and to answer questions you may have regarding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,” she says on her website.
She may be in for an earful Thursday, since the president of the Bailey Middle School PTA is encouraging parents to attend the session to talk about concerns over naming the new high school in Cornelius “Hough High.”
In a letter that was sent by email Tuesday to all Bailey parents who have signed up for computerized correspondence, PTA President Janet Wirostek advised that concerned parents attend Ms. McGarry’s informal coffee hour. The email was sent out with the subject line: “Please Rethink Hough High for the New High School on Bailey Road (Pros and Cons) – IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED.”
Ms. Wirostek told DavidsonNews.net that she would like to see the school board revisit its Nov. 10 vote approving the CMS naming committee’s top choice of “W.A. Hough” for the new high school under construction next door to Bailey Middle. The high school is set to open in September. (See our previous coverage, “It’s official: School on Bailey Road is ‘Hough High’“)
Ms. Wirostek fears the name could be mispronounced in a way that has negative connotations for girls (in other words, “Ho High”) and also could be misconstrued to suggest drug use (as slang for sniffing glue).
“It’s a personal thing,” she said. “It makes me sick.”
William Amos Hough, Jr., in 1966, during his tenure as principal of North Mecklenburg High School.
Hough (it rhymes with “tough”) is the name of the principal of North Meck High known for peacefully integrating high schools in the northern part of the county, including the Davidson-Cornelius area, in the 1960s. Mr. Hough, who died in 1998, is remembered by his former students as a man of courage and fairness who oversaw the folding of the all-black Torrence-Lytle school into the mostly white North Meck, and then further made sure that North Meck got rid of its “Rebel” mascot, changing it to today’s Vikings.
The Hough name was the top choice of a 20-member committee of parents, students, community members and educators, who sifted through names submitted by the public earlier in the year. Click here to see a list of the committee members. (And see our Sept. 16 post, “Names sought for Bailey Road high school.“)
Ms. Wirostek stressed that she is not opposed to honoring Mr. Hough, but said “everyone just assumed (the new high school) would be named Bailey High” and added that many with students who were planning to attend the new high school were “blindsided” by the Hough name.
She is encouraging people to lobby the school board to reopen the matter at the Dec. 8 CMS school board meeting.
Said Ms. Wirostek: “I really don’t care what the name is, as long as it’s not derogatory.”
Reading this article, I can only assume that all of the real problems in public education have been solved so we’re now dealing with the trivial “issues.” We have crossed way over into the land of being too politically correct. Does anyone really think their daughter will be promiscuous because she attends “ho high,” or their child will inhale propane because they attend “huff high?” Come on. My high school’s nickname was “Trojan.” Did that mean I wore condoms to school? (For the record, I abstained throughout high school, which would not surprise anyone who has seen my senior photo.) I’m sure there are many schools to be named after our 41st or 43rd presidents, even though Bush is slang for female genitalia.
Mr. Hough was my principal at North Mecklenburg. When I ran into him in around 1990 for the first time since my 1959 graduation, he recognized me immediately and called me by name. Mr. Hough was a gentle but firm principal, and naming the new school after him is a logical and perfect choice. –Elizabeth Withers Estes