New West Aurora field house to be named Veterans Memorial

West Aurora School District 129 will honor the sacrifices of alumni and others who have served in the U.S. armed forces by naming a new field house for them.

The school board in a 5-2 vote Monday picked Veterans Memorial as the name for the facility at West Aurora High School.

Among other activities, the field house will be the home for the school's ROTC program, drill exercises and competitions.

District officials also intend to consolidate various plaques and other displays honoring veterans, which are displayed throughout the school, to an area near the entrance to the new field house.

They are also investigating ways to make the displays more interactive, including displays that would list former students who served in the military.

The field house will be the third for the high school. The others are the Red Field House and the Blue Field House.

Board members Valerie Dykstra and Amie Thompson said they voted against the proposal because they did not agree with the procedure used for selecting the name, not the name itself.

Thompson noted she has a son serving in the Air Force, and that her husband was a lieutenant in the Army.

"So my vote is not indicative of naming it Veterans Memorial Field House, it is indicative of a hiccup in the process," she said.

A committee consisting of district administrators, the school principal, the ROTC instructor and board President Robert Gonzalez came up with the name. Thompson said according to board policy the board should have discussed forming the committee so other interested board members could participate.

The committee's recommendation was presented at the July 11 school board meeting.

Thompson said it's not the first time board policies have been ignored, and her vote Monday was meant to make a point.

"We never want to be surprised by things showing up at board meetings," Thompson said.