The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AT least six names are under consideration to replace Christopher Columbus at Columbus Primary School, with the institution’s coat of arms and other symbols also likely to be reviewed as part of a renaming process that education officials say is already well advanced.

Director of Education Dominique McCartney-Russell said a committee made up of school leaders and community representatives has compiled the shortlist and is reviewing the history and contributions of those being considered.

“I won't be able to give you the names though,” Mrs McCartney-Russell told The Tribune, “but there were at least six names on that list.”

She said the committee will ultimately decide which person best reflects the school’s identity and heritage.

Mrs McCartney-Russell said the process could move quickly once that decision is made.

“For me, that's well on its way because once you could identify several persons,” she said, “all they need to do once they finish that historical background is to determine which person and because we've done this so many times, we have a planning committee. We could actually rename that school within a month. We're just waiting on the name of the person, and once we get that, it's a go. So I can't give you a time.”

The education director said the school’s coat of arms will also be reviewed because of the historical issues surrounding its current name.

“When we rename schools, we don't normally change coat of arms,” Mrs McCartney-Russell said, “but because for us it's a long-standing symbol of its identity and heritage, but because of I guess the historical issues surrounding the name of the school that is certainly something that will be changed.”

She said the committee will also examine whether any other school symbols should be altered.

The renaming effort follows a years-long debate over whether public institutions should continue to honour Christopher Columbus and other colonial-era figures.

Attorney General Wayne Munroe said in July that he would be surprised if Columbus Primary School still bore Columbus’ name in another year or two.

The issue has remained politically and publicly sensitive since the Columbus statue outside Government House was smashed in 2021 and removed the following year.

Shervandaze “Michael the Archangel” Smith was convicted in 2023 after damaging the statue with a sledgehammer. He pleaded guilty to causing damage and trespassing and was ordered to pay $7,050 to avoid prison.

Mrs McCartney-Russell said the Ministry of Education could not independently initiate the renaming of a school. Under ministry policy, she said, the process must come from the community through bodies such as the PTA, local government or the school board.

“I've been in this seat now four years,” she said, “and in the four years I think it was really in the last two years we were advised that the community desires a name change. Once we heard from the community that they wanted a name change, that's when we brought the committee together and they have been meeting in regards to that since then.”

She said the length of the process varies from community to community.

“Some schools, the renaming is done very quickly,” Mrs McCartney-Russell said. “Sometimes it takes other communities a little bit longer. There may be some more issues involved, or they may have a number of persons who are stellar, are distinguished behaviors, and so it may be difficult to identify just one person.”

Mrs McCartney-Russell said the committee’s historical review is intended to help settle that question before the school formally adopts a new identity.