The ranked choice voting shows that Schoharie Storm received the most first place votes, while Schoharie Vale received both the fewest first place votes and the most fifth place votes. The second most first place votes went to Schoharie Hawks. The third most first place votes went to Schoharie Coyotes.
This process to replace the school mascot began in January and followed an order from the New York State Department of Education, which required school districts that have Native American-themed logos or mascots to change them, or face loss of state aid.
We took more than 300 proposed mascot ideas from community members, staff, families and students over a 30-day period. Our mascot committee, which included a range of stakeholders including alumni, parents, staff and students, narrowed that field down to the five choices on the ballot. We distributed the ranked-choice ballot to our students and students’ families and opened up voting to the community. We received 1,952 ballots after two weeks of voting.
We appreciate all of your feedback at school board meetings, our public forum and through the comment section of the ballot. The Schoharie Central School District Board of Education will now review the vote in advance of an official announcement later this month.
The following, listed in the order they appeared on the ballot, are the number of first and last place votes for each proposed mascot:
Schoharie Coyotes – 312 first place votes; 202 last place votes
Schoharie Hawks – 318 first place votes; 78 last place votes
Schoharie Storm – 419 first place votes; 138 last place votes
Schoharie Titans – 229 first place votes; 262 last place votes
Schoharie Vale – 169 first place votes; 767 last place votes