Rachel Brown
Deciding against the top suggestions from an informal public survey, Whitfield Board of Education members selected Coahulla Creek High School as the name for the school being built on Crow Road on Monday.
“(We chose that name) because the creek is on the property,” said board vice chairman Tim Trew. “Coahulla Creek is one of the most beautiful creeks and in one of the most beautiful areas in the world in my opinion.”
Each board member wrote his suggestion on a sheet of paper the board secretary compiled and read aloud. Since there were only two suggestions, the board voted on both. Board members Thomas Barton and Jerry Nealey voted to name the school Varnell High School. Board members Gary Brock, John Thomas and Trew preferred Coahulla Creek.
“Coahulla” is an Indian word meaning “pole tent,” according to Prater’s Mill Foundation president Judy Alderman, who said the word probably comes from the Creeks.
Thomas suggested the name at an Oct. 26 work session and said it was given by the Indians and “goes way, way back.” He said he’d received several calls from members of the community who liked it.
The school system accepted suggestions for the name for several weeks and received 130 responses through an online survey and hard copy surveys at the schools. Officials said some of the responses represented the wishes of more than one individual, and some people voted twice. The most suggested names were Northeast Whitfield High with 34 votes, Prater’s Mill High School (22), Beaverdale High (17), Varnell High School (14), Crow High School (3) and North Whitfield High (2). The rest of the suggestions — including Coahulla Creek and Barack Obama School — received one vote each.
Brock said the community used to have a Varnell High School, and he wanted a fresh name. Several board members said that while “Northeast Whitfield High” received several votes, it could also create confusion for visiting teams who might get it confused with Northwest Whitfield or Southeast.
“To me, Coahulla Creek sounded real good,” Brock said.
Barton said he preferred “Varnell” as the name of the new high school because it reflects the name of the community. Nealey said he liked “Varnell” for the same reason but has no qualms with the chosen name.
“Our tradition over the years has been to associate the name with the community within the school boundaries. The name recognition with Varnell is a definite plus for it,” Nealey said.
Lane Duke, a Westside Elementary School parent, attended Monday’s meeting and remarked that the name is “a mouthful.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. It didn’t seem like it was overwhelming excitement about it from the crowd,” she said.
Duke said she appreciates the school system seeking community input and wishes more parents had become involved.
North Whitfield Middle School eighth-grader Christopher Gwin said he thought the name was “pretty interesting and cool, but I really didn’t think we needed another high school.” Gwin lives in the Varnell area and could be slated to attend the school when it opens in 2011.
His father, James Gwin, said the name “has a nice ring to it.”
“Of course, the mascot, I think there could be some fun names with that,” he said. “I don’t know ... koalas or whatever would go with Coahulla.”
Students will help pick the mascot and school colors after the school opens in 2011, officials said. The roughly $43 million project is $16 million less than the original construction budget. The school is being paid for with education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST) funds.
Barton questioned getting names for consideration by secret written ballot.
“You’re publicly elected, and you’re in a public meeting,” Barton said. “Why would you need a secret ballot?”
After the meeting, Trew said he didn’t intend the process to be secretive, only to give all members an equal chance to voice their opinions and not allow the more quiet ones to be dominated by the more outspoken personalities like his.
Timeline
September 2006 — ESPLOST (education special purpose local option sales tax) vote to begin funding construction passes by 3-1
Fall 2007 — State Department of Education approves the site on Crow Road
Late 2007-early 2008 — Community offers input on design
December 2008 — Concerned Citizens group files lawsuits against school system and state, objecting to the location
June 2009 — Judge rules in favor of school system; Concerned Citizens group drops lawsuits
Sept. 25, 2009 — Whitfield County Schools begins accepting community input on naming of high school
Oct. 26, 2009 — Board members close out and review community suggestions
Nov. 2, 2009 — Board members select “Coahulla Creek High School”
December 2009-early 2010 — Principal search and redistricting processes to begin
August 2011 — Scheduled opening
2011-2012 — Mascot and school color selection by staff and students
