BRUNSWICK, Maine — Brunswick’s mascot controversy is over.
The kids in town had an election, picked a new mascot, then got overruled.
Elementary students at the Coffin school voted overwhelmingly for the new mascot for the new Kate Furbish Elementary School to be the chickadee, but board members initially turned that down in favor of the dragonfly.
They’ve now reversed course and honored the student’s vote.
“It’s important for the fact that these children voted and they voted for chickadee, and it’s important to teach the children that their vote matters and their voice matters,” parent Abbie Morin said.
Abbie Morin’s son Zander, like most of his classmates, voted for the chickadee.
“Because they said that which ever gets the most wins,” Zander said.
The board said when they initially overturned the students’ vote in favor of the dragonfly they were pushing for uniformity of mascots across the district, but now after lots of feedback about how important and involved the voting process was for students, the board voted Thursday night to honor the students’ mascot choice of the chickadee.
“I do appreciate the board reconsidering this,” parent James Webster said. “I do appreciate the fact that they took the time to look at maybe errors they were made in the past and to listen to the voice of the community.”