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JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEKWith three-quarters of students and teachers backing it, Powell Middle School gets a new mascot.
SPRING HILL - It didn't take long for Powell Middle School to adapt to the change.
Just 12 hours after the school's advisory council voted to oust its 19-year-old mascot, the helmeted and bearded Explorer, the school Web site welcomed visitors to the "Home of the Powell Panthers."
Painters already were scheduled to wipe away the conquistador, who adorns the administration and gymnasium walls, to make way for the more menacing mammal.
Members of the now-Panthers football team, who were working out in the weight room Friday morning, welcomed the advisory council's unanimous decision.
"I didn't really like Explorers," eighth-grader John Cotilletta said. "It flows better, Powell Panthers, than Powell Explorers."
"I think a change is good every so often," added Nathan Barnwell, also an eighth-grader.
The impetus to send the Explorer packing came from the student body at Hernando County's biggest middle school. Several kids told incoming principal Michael Ransaw when he visited campus in the spring that the traveling man seemed outdated.
Ransaw said he heard the message.
"The bottom line is that we're serving the students and the parents," he said. "The parents have a voice. I think it's important that we hear the students out."
So he put the matter to a vote, sending ballots to every parent, student and staff member in late June. About 40 percent of the people responded.
Among parents and students, 76.5 percent supported the change, with 18.3 percent opposed and 5.2 percent suggesting other options including puma, platypus and python. Among the school staff, the results were similar, with 75.2 percent favoring the new name.
"I don't see a problem if it's what the kids want," said language arts teacher Erica Hewitt-Jeppesen, who attended the Thursday advisory council meeting. "Actually, it's kind of nice to embark on a whole new thing with the new principal. It's like we're opening a whole new school."
Ransaw, who officially took over as principal July 1, has embarked upon a major school overhaul. His initiatives include revamping the course schedule, stiffening the disciplinary code and beautifying the grounds.
"Obviously, there are a lot of changes taking place, changes that we feel will benefit the staff as well as the student body here," he said. "I guess if there was an opportunity to change the mascot, this would be a good time because we are embarking on a new journey."
He remained sensitive, though, to the complaints that Ken Bonfield - Powell's first principal - raised about erasing the Explorer. Ransaw planned to send some items to Bonfield as keepsakes, and also to create a "shrine" of Explorer memorabilia.
"That's part of the school's history," Ransaw observed.
Past or present, Explorer or Panther, football player Barnwell suggested that everyone should keep the issue in perspective.
"It really doesn't matter what name you are," he said before heading back to the weight room. "It's how you play."
Ransaw plans to unveil the new school logo during Powell's back-to-school open house on Aug. 8.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education and politics in Hernando County. He can be reached at 352 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com