Debate Over 'Rebel' Mascot, Confederate Symbols Roils Arkansas School District
By Corey Mitchell on May 25, 2016 3:58 PM
A debate over Confederate symbols and history in a western Arkansas school system has led to the resignation of a veteran athletic director and the ouster of two longtime school board members ...
Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen, a 1981 Southside High graduate, is leading the effort to reinstate the "Rebel" mascot there ... McCutchen supports efforts to elect new board members who will bring back both the Rebel mascot and Dixie fight song.
... the Fort Smith school board also decided to delay a planned school tax election to "gain voters' support" after the decision last year to change the mascot and dump the fight song.
Rowland, a school district employee for 53 years, said the debate shifted in a direction he was uncomfortable with, and chose to resign at Monday's school board meeting. He had served as athletic director for the past 25 years ...
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2016/05/debate_over_rebel_mascot_confe.html
