Princeton Regional School District to be Renamed Princeton Public Schools

Effective July 1, the school district will officially be renamed Princeton Public Schools.

By a 5-4 vote, the Board of Education on Tuesday approved the renaming of the Princeton Regional School District.

Why? Once Princeton Borough and Princeton Township consolidate on Jan. 1, 2013, Princeton will no longer qualify as a regional school district, and is required by law to change its name, Superintendent Judy Wilson said.

The district plans to use its new name beginning July 1 in preparation for the 2012-13 academic year. 

Board President Rebecca Cox and board members Timothy Quinn, Molly Chrein, Afsheen Shamsi and Charles Kalmbach voted in favor of the new name.

Board members Dorothy Bedford, Mia Cahill, Andrea Spalla and Evelyn Spann voted no. Board member Dan Haughton was absent.

The choice for a new name came down to a choice between Princeton Public Schools or Princeton School District. The district solicited public opinion through its Facebook page and an online survey.

By 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the district had received 537 online survey votes, with 50 percent favoring Princeton School District and 47 percent favoring Princeton Public Schools, Wilson said.

There were pros and cons to both names, she said.

Some thought Princeton School District sounded too bureaucratic, others worried that the acronym PSD could create confusion with PDS, or Princeton Day School. Still others thought the name positively emphasized Princeton.

Princeton Public Schools would positively emphasize public education, but might give the impression that the district has authority over local charter schools, which it does not.

“The consensus among students was more on Princeton School District because it emphasizes Princeton and everything it embodies and gives it the high regard it deserves,” said Arpi Youssoufian, a Princeton High School student representative to the school board. 

Board member Dorothy Bedford said she was voting for the name Princeton School District because it was the public preference and many residents noted they disliked the name Princeton Public Schools.

Ultimately Princeton Public schools won the majority of the board’s vote.

Changing the name of the district is not expected to cost taxpayers any extra money because Timothy Quinn has publically stated the district will use every sheet of existing letterhead before 2013 and no school signs need to be changed.

The name change will not affect the district's send-receive relationship with Cranbury School. Cranbury pays Princeton a per-pupil tuition fee, but because the district does not levy taxes on Cranbury residents, the arrangement does not constitute a regional district.