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Draper • In 1982, Draper got it's first stop light, a few years after incorporating. As the city population has grown into two new secondary schools, it wants to shed the historic name associated with a school established in Sandy to establish its own new history.
Some residents have raised concerns to council members about the current name of the Crescent View Middle School. The city unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday to encourage the school board and district to rename the school, but it isn't offering any suggestions for a name just yet.
The city held a town hall meeting for more than 150 residents in attendance to share how far it has come over the decades in terms of development.
Draper went from being the largest city in the state to not have its own high school and middle school, to now having both that will house more than 1,700 and 1,300 students, respectively, this fall.
Currently, middle school students attend Crescent View Middle School on 11100 South in Sandy. When the middle school opens in August, the Sandy city location, won't be demolished, but will be repurposed. As the new location was planned to replace the existing school the name came with it. But as the opening of the school nears, so does discussion about why the name hasn't been changed to reflect where it moved to.
The city discussed how the current name of the middle school is a point of consternation for both residents in Sandy and Draper.
"The reality is that [the name] doesn't fit the new location of the school," said councilman Bill Colbert.
Crescent was a small geographical area in Sandy, well known by the locals.
"It was a distinguishable area, and it was always named that," said councilman Alan Summerhays.
Mayor Darrell Smith said he thinks the Sandy location should keep the name, and let Draper have a new one to preserve and respect the historical value of the area.
"It should be able to be a compliment to the past and the present," Smith said.
Up for debate is that the new location of the middle school will be in Draper as well as the boundaries for students attending the school.
"We recognize that the name Crescent has a historic connotation with Sandy city," said councilman Jeff Stenquist about the school name. "Maybe we could find a name that more matches the city of Draper."
Councilman Bill Rappleye said he originally was opposed to the resolution, and thought it was "premature," but he now feels the resolution is a good way to begin a dialogue with the school board about a possible name change.
Twitter: @CimCity