IRON COUNTY, Utah — The decision the Iron County School Board made after an hours-long meeting last month to let the community vote on changing the Cedar High ‘Reds’ mascot back to the old “Redmen’ one is probably not going to happen, said Jon Whittaker, Iron County Clerk.
“I don't think it's possible or appropriate that it be put on the ballot,” he said. “There's about 400 pages or so of code that governs elections in Utah, and so there might be some loophole that I'm not aware of.”
In an email to the Iron County School District superintendent obtained by FOX 13 News,
the district’s attorney Scott Garrett wrote, “The law does not allow the voters to consider administrative issues” and “The Iron County School district will not be able to place this on the ballot for general consideration by the public.”
“There are different actions that public bodies take,” said Whittaker. “Some are legislative and some are administrative, and this was an administrative action so it can't be referred.”
Whittaker understands the pressure the school board was under, listening to dozens of passionate community members speaking in support and in opposition to changing the ‘Reds’ back to the ‘Redmen,’ he said.
“In their defense, sometimes you're in a meeting, and you've got the white-hot spotlight on you, and you come up with an idea, and it sounded like maybe that one didn't have a chance to be vetted before the idea it was thought of, and so I have some sympathy for that,” said Whittaker.
At this point, the board could do some polling before making their decision, said Whittaker.
“I went to Cedar High School myself,” he said. “I was a Redmen Pride winner and love the mascot, but this has sure been a divisive issue in our community.”
The Board will decide on how to move forward at their next business meeting on Tuesday, May 23.
