"Decorah High School" name will be official

On Monday night the Decorah Community School Board made it official that the name of the high school will be Decorah High School, with a subtitle referring to the building as Thomas R. Roberts Building. The name of the building arose as officials questioned the name as renovation completion becomes a near reality. At last month's board meeting the board decided to research the issue a bit more and, if possible, inquire with relatives of the former superintendent.

Officials contacted the daughter of Thomas Roberts, Lucile Roberts, now 88 years old and living in Arkansas. She said that she would be pleased to have the Thomas R. Roberts name recognized with the building. She was also pleased that the original building cornerstone and commemorative plaque, purchased by the family at the time of initial construction, would be incorporated in final building details. In the future, perhaps as early as next May, diplomas will recognize graduation from Decorah High School, rather than Thomas R. Roberts High School. This, along with other official documents, will erase multiple "official" references to the high school that could cause confusion.