GLASTONBURY, Conn. — The Glastonbury Board of Education is holding a special hearing Tuesday night to discuss a petition that asks the board to reverse its decision on replacing the Tomahawk mascot.
The decision to phase out the mascot came over a year ago in August 2020.
The petition filed by residents of Glastonbury stated that the board did not give residents an "opportunity to provide meaningful input" before the decision was made.
According to those who filed the petition, the decision to change the mascot was made by a select group of people from within and outside of the Glastonbury community.
"We request that the Board of Education take a step back and listen to the vast majority within the Glastonbury community and reconsider and then reverse its decision which was executed during the Covid [sic] pandemic," the petition stated.
In July 2020, the board created a committee to further investigate the logo. The board was created as protests were held across the country and in Connecticut following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
The decision to create the committee came days after the National Congress of American Indians had contacted the board, requesting that the Tomahawk logo and mascot be discontinued.
At the time, the board said 19 students at Glastonbury High School identified as Native American, and about half of those students were on the committee. Some of the 19 students were cited saying the logo and mascot did not offend them. However, the board said many others said they felt it was offensive and should be changed.
Due to pandemic restrictions at the time, the board had been meeting remotely and created the ability for the public to provide comments in written form online.
The motion was passed on August 17, 2020.
Guilford Public Schools also removed their mascot in June 2020, while Killingly Public Schools in January 2020 changed their mascot back to the Killingly Redmen.
In October, the Watertown Public Schools unveiled the new name of its mascot: the Watertown Warriors.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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