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Board to decide on addition to school name

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By Megan Gildow, Staff Writer 5:18 PM Tuesday, December 8, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — In one corner, you have the Springfield native and boxing legend Davey Moore.

In the other, you have one of the founding fathers of public education in Springfield and school namesake of several decades, John Fulton.

Who will win in the battle over the name of Fulton Elementary School will be decided this week when Springfield City Schools board members meet for what will likely be the last time this year.

Fulton’s likely to keep the naming honors regardless of the board’s decision; the group of citizens, led by former Mayor Dale Henry, seeking the name change isn’t disputing that. What they want is to add Moore’s name, christening the school “John Fulton-Davey Moore Elementary School.”

Henry’s been seeking the change actively for a couple months, citing Moore’s significance in the community and the ebbing of the park named for Moore to accommodate the new Fulton school.

Board members offered to name Fulton’s gymnasium for Moore but Henry rejected the offer. Board members then asked the administration to research and report back with estimates about how much it would cost to change the name.

The board said at a Nov. 19 meeting it would make a final decision at the meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Clark Center on West Jefferson Street.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373 or mgildow@coxohio.com.

John Fulton

In 1850, John Fulton was one of two school managers selected by the newly-founded city of Springfield to begin a public school system and in 1855 Fulton 0opened, as principal, Western school for grades 1 through 8, according to Springfield City Schools’ research. He later became the town’s first high school principal at Central school at a time when not everyone supported the public school system going past eighth grade.

At the time, the city wouldn’t support allowing black students to attend the first two common schools in the city and instead started a third; Fulton however was said to be committed to allowing students from that school who wanted to attend secondary school to attend Central, despite resistance from the community, according to the research.

Davey Moore

Davey Moore moved to Springfield with his family as a boy and attended Fulton Elementary and Keifer Junior High School, before leaving school at 14 to compete as an amateur boxer, according to the district’s research. He married Geraldine Welch and the couple had five children.

Moore became a professional boxer with a winning record and captured the World Featherweight title. He died in 1963 from injuries sustained in a televised fight with Sugar Ramos, and his death sparked controversy and inspired a Bob Dylan song.

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Naming a school after a fighter just because of the fighter's ethnicity makes zero sense to me.

Me
3:02 PM, 12/9/2009

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Just because you quit school and know how to throw a punch doesn't mean you deserve a school named after you! For goodness sakes, then you should go to a local bar a pick a few names from there too! What is Springfield coming to?

:)
1:04 PM, 12/9/2009

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Why should the school be renamed period? What is wrong with the name today as it is? Is there some pressing need to honor Davey Moore? I agree with the others, there is not a good reason to change the name of the school.

BlahBlahBlah
12:28 PM, 12/9/2009

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why not Fulton Moore Elementary school? well while where at it might as well put John Legend in the mix!!! Fulton-Moore-Legend Elementary School!!! Or we forgot Justin Chambers, o wait he graduated from Southeastern high school. Moore hasnt done anything to be honored like this!!!!!

who cares??
12:07 PM, 12/9/2009

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Who cares?? The school will be shut down soon anyways. The school board shouldn't even consider doing anything that will cost them unnessary money.

????
10:38 AM, 12/9/2009

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