Can The City Vote On Raider Nickname?

MELROSE, MA — "Can't we just vote on it?"

It's been a common question from those who want see the Raider moniker stick around. If Wakefield could vote on their athletics logo, why can't Melrose put the high school nickname to the ballot?

First, some clarification. Wakefield residents did vote to keep the Native American logo connected to the Warrior moniker. But it was non-binding — meaning it did not have any legal or substantive impact. A month earlier, the School Committee had already decided to drop the logo in the vote that, for all practical purposes, was the only one that mattered. The district is going through replacement options now.

But does that preclude the Raider moniker from being on the ballot in a meaningful way in Melrose? Where the authority truly sits is murky.

LAST NIGHT: School Committee Moves Raider Vote To April 12

High School Principal Jason Merrill was first to move to change the moniker, but faced a groundswell of opposition saying he didn't have the right to make such a decision independently.

One vocal opposition group cited Massachusetts law in saying the School Committee alone has the authority to make such a change. While the law isn't that explicit, it does lay out broad authority the School Committee has over athletics. Whether or not it has to be the School Committee's decision, it's clear it can be the School Committee's decision.

So it went from the principal to the School Committee. Now there are calls for it to go from the School Committee, where there is clearly at least some support to move on from the Raider name, to the ballot. One resident during public comment likened it to moving the goalposts.

Mayor Paul Brodeur weighed in on why he thinks the issue shouldn't go to a vote, saying it would shut out the people most impacted by the decision: Students.

"What we represent are everyone in the city of Melrose, and that includes 4,000 or so kids in the Melrose Public Schools, that if this is decided by referendum, will not have their voices heard," he said at Tuesday night's School Committee meeting.

Brodeur said he wasn't sure what the perfect way to have the students' voices heard, but believes they are the most important .

"I think it is incumbent upon us to to make that decision," Brodeur said. "We obviously can't control if under the charter folks move to do that. But I think it would be a shame to have to end with a process where the kids don't have a voice."

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook