Citing concerns that the naming committee’s top choice may not reflect broader community sentiment, Daviess County Public Schools Superintendent Charley Broughton on Wednesday recommended — and the school board unanimously approved — delaying a final decision on the name of the district’s new Highland Elementary School in favor of a community vote.
Under the plan approved by the board, families and staff at Highland Elementary will vote on one of the three finalist names, with the results to be unveiled on March 17 during the board luncheon. Broughton said he would then formally recommend the winning name to the board for approval.
“Some can say it’s just a name, but it will literally be with that building probably for six-plus decades. We want to get it right,” he said.
The naming committee, which met twice and reviewed approximately 130 responses, presented three name options for the new school:
- Highland Grove Elementary School, with the Panthers as the mascot
- Highland Trace Elementary School, with the Panthers as the mascot
- Highland Elementary School, retaining the Hornets mascot
Broughton confirmed that Highland Grove was the committee’s top recommendation, followed by Highland Trace, with keeping the current name ranked third. However, he said conversations he was hearing outside the committee raised enough concern to warrant pausing the process.
“Although the committee came with a number one recommendation, the general discussions out in the community, I don’t know that they matched that,” Broughton said. “I felt we should make sure we’re getting this right. If what I’m hearing is factual, I think that will come out loud and clear when it goes to the Highland community.”
Broughton said some of the informal feedback he heard suggested strong support for keeping the name Highland Elementary as-is, which contrasted with the committee’s ranking.
“I couldn’t say I was 100% confident,” he said. “But it was enough that I felt like, since we’re not in a rush, it just made sense that we send it back (for a community vote).”
He emphasized that the district is not deviating from the three names the committee selected and noted that committee members said they would be comfortable with any of the three outcomes.
“Even though they did have a number one and a number two, they left that committee meeting saying if number three were selected, they would be content with it,” Broughton said.
Voting will be limited to Highland Elementary households — one vote per household — along with school staff. The vote will be conducted in person at the school, similar to a site-based decision-making process, with a defined voting window announced in advance. Families should watch for communication from the school for more details.
“Then we’ll tally those, and we’ll have a name that we all can feel very, very comfortable as representative of what that community sees should be moving forward,” Broughton said.
The new Highland Elementary building is planned for 3001 Calumet Trace, about a half mile from the existing Highland Elementary campus, with its main entrance facing Hayden Road. Broughton said district officials are cautiously optimistic that site work could begin this summer, with a potential move-in timeframe around December 2027, depending on weather and construction conditions.
