The scoreboard inside the gym at Chautauqua Lake Central School is pictured. P-J file photo

MAYVILLE — Jamestown isn’t the only school district in Chautauqua County in search of a new nickname. Chautauqua Lake Central School informed parents late last week that it’s being required to drop the “Thunderbirds” name due to its Native American origins.

The school district on Friday released a two-page letter outlining what happened in addition to a transition plan for establishing a new name and image.

“While we understand that there may be mixed feelings about being directed to change our school nickname, we want to emphasize that the district is required to do so by law and that we must meet these requirements,” the district said in its letter, signed by Superintendent Josh Liddell, all members of the school board, the district’s business executive, athletics supervisor, and principals.

Earlier this month, the Jamestown Public Schools Board approved a transition timeline to officially move on from the “Red Raiders” nickname. Such plans need to be sent to the state Education Department.

The state’s Board of Regents in April voted to ban the use of Native American team names, mascots and logos at schools — further requiring that all references be retired by 2025 unless schools receive approval from a recognized Native American tribe.

In February 1996, voters approved the merging of Mayville and Chautauqua central schools. According to a June 1996 article that appeared in The Post-Journal, the Thunderbird mascot is a hybrid of both schools’ previous previous mascots — the Indian from Chautauqua and the Golden Eagle from Mayville.

In its statement, Chautauqua Lake Central School said it was informed by the state on June 5 that it could no longer use the Thunderbirds nickname “due to its Indigenous origins.” The thunderbird is part of Native American mythology, known as being a powerful spirit in the form of a bird.

“The state’s regulations will also require Chautauqua Lake to discontinue the use of any ‘Thunderbird’ imagery and references for the same reason,” the district said.

In its own timeline, Chautauqua Lake will utilize two “shared-decision making” committees to move on from its current nickname. One group, the CL Campus Committee, will be responsible for identifying all areas where the nickname and images appear and how they can be removed or modified.

The second group, the CL Design Committee, will be responsible for identifying a new nickname to present to the school board no later than Dec. 31. Replacement of the Thunderbirds name and image is scheduled to begin around July with completion eyed around June 2024.

Any remaining use of the name and image are to be removed by June 30, 2025.

As part of its 2020 capital project, the district upgraded its athletic facilities. That included a new scoreboard in the main gym and a new synthetic turf field at the athletic complex. Both will now need to be updated in the next couple of years to remove the Thunderbird nickname.

Chautauqua Lake believes the cost for the state-required changes “will be paid for without taking funds from educational programs,” the district said. “The Board of Education and the Leadership Team are committed to engaging in a collaborative process, which will certainly include the valued input of our school community, to create our new nickname.

“While this change was not planned by the district, the Board of Education and the Leadership Team look forward to working with the school community to meet the state’s requirements, and we are confident that we have the ability and resources to do so.”