TONAWANDA, N.Y. — There's excitement in the air for something new coming to Tonawanda's City School District.
It's the announcement of a new mascot which was unveiled Tuesday night at its school board meeting.
They will now be called the Tonawanda Timberwolves.
"To have this be something that our current students embraced and are connected to is something that's really important to us," says Superintendent Timothy Oldenburg.
Students and parents aren't fond of the change.
"It's odd. I don't really like it. I feel we should've just kept it," says one student at Tonawanda High School.
A parent says, "I just think it wasn't necessary to change it. All three of my boys went here, and they all graduated from here, and it's always been that."
The change is part of new state regulations that require schools to remove indigenous imagery from district names, logos, and mascots by the end of this school year. Tonawanda City School District is next in line. Currently, the logo looks like a red "T" with feathers off to the side. They're called the Warriors. But Tuesday's vote includes choices like the Riverhawks, Timberwolves, or the Titans.
At the Iroquois Central School District, they've just announced the new mascot will be the Red Hawks. A statement posted on the district's website announced the board is accepting suggestions for new logo submissions due by the end of the month.
"We certainly understand where we are. We certainly understand the direction of the state education department and we're moving forward under their directives," Oldenburg says.
However, it comes at a cost. Removing the old label from things like a football field or school gym can be expensive.
"Do you have a rough estimate on how much some of these things will cost?" I asked.
"We have some understanding of some of the costs. It just depends on the magnitude. Are we able to re-carpet areas of our field or will it be a whole new turf field?" Oldenburg said.