Derby’s colors are red, white — and no more than 20 percent black.
Those would be the official colors of uniforms at the middle school and the high school, if the Board of Education approves a policy proposed by school board chairman Kenneth Marcucio.
The nickname at the two schools — Red Raiders, no matter what.
Marcucio presented a draft policy to a subcommittee Tuesday. The draft policy will come before the full Board of Education later this month.
A vote on the new policy won’t happen until March, at the least, Schools Superintendent Stephen Tracy said.
The motivation for the formal policy seems to be coming from the fact that the color scheme inside the new middle school is red, white and blue.
Marcucio said the school board did not have control over the color scheme. He said there has been talk of the middle school establishing a separate identity from the high school — but Marcucio doesn’t want to see it result in a change to the Red Raiders’ red, white and black.
“It’s just putting it in black and white,” he said.
Tracy urged the school board to publicize the proposed policy to parents, parent groups, school principals and booster clubs.
“I’m encouraging us to give anybody who has an opinion on this — and there will be many — a chance to be heard,” Tracy said.
Marcucio said the proposed policy doesn’t make changes. Tracy said it depends on who you’re asking.
“It will be (a change) in the minds of some of the people at the middle school. If you’re saying your colors are not red, white and blue — your color is red — that will be regarded as different from what they are thinking. There may be a difference of opinion,” Tracy said.
One organization that may immediately have a problem with the policy — Derby High School cheerleaders, whose uniforms are predominantly black.
Marcucio’s policy wold not affect warm-up gear — only uniforms supplied by the district.
