(KAIR)--New mascots for two Atchison schools will be known sometime this coming summer.

That word comes from Dr. Renee Scott, Superintendent of the Atchison Public Schools, following this week’s action of the USD 409 Board of Education, removing the district’s Native American themed mascots. On Monday evening, the School Board voted unanimously for the removal of the Atchison Middle School’s “Braves” mascot, along with the Atchison High School’s “Redmen.” Both mascots are cited as playing into Native American stereotypes.
Following an inquiry from MSC News, Scott said a committee is being formed to determine what mascots will be selected as replacements, saying “the exact process the committee will go through will be discussed at the May 10 board meeting.”

In the meantime, Scott told MSC News surveys, regarding mascot ideas, will, in the next few weeks, be sent out so that “all community members, students, and staff” have an opportunity for input into the mascot selection.

According to Scott, a more detailed timeline for the final decision of the mascot selection will be outlined at the May board meeting, with the goal currently being to have a mascot approved by the School Board, at the earliest, at the June board meeting, or at the July board meeting, at the latest.

The district has, since 2016, explored the fate of the mascots. Although a 2018 vote of the school board kept them in place, further study, including additional input from the public and experts, led to Monday’s vote to remove the mascots.