Western Placer struggles to agree on Lincoln High School Theater name

The Western Placer Unified School Board struggled to agree on a name for the Lincoln High School Theater during Tuesday's meeting. According to School Board Superintendent Kerry Callahan, a survey for the public to participate in naming the theater was sent out April 1 via Facebook and the Parent Square portal open to parents within the school district. Originally, the school board suggested naming the theater after Lee Basham, a Lincoln resident who has spent the last decade giving back to the theater program at Lincoln High School. Basham has built sets for school productions, sold tickets and run sound and lights for various school productions. According to the survey results, 227 Lincoln residents agreed to name the school after Basham. However, 231 residents disagreed and suggested naming the theater after Paul Crabtree. Crabtree was a music teacher for more than 35 years in Lincoln throughout various schools in the district. Survey comments included, "He (Crabtree) brought music to the classroom and many stages through the town and rural Lincoln. He (Crabtree) also traveled with youth throughout the state, giving them opportunities to compete." Following Basham and Crabtree, naming the theater after longtime Lincoln drama instructor Ed Cummins was a third option suggested by 27 Lincoln residents. According to school board documents, one Lincoln resident wrote, "Mr. Cummins was instrumental in offering positive insight in the session and nuances of the current theater. His love for theater and drama was shared with hundreds of Lincoln High School students." After a 15-minute discussion on this issue, the board decided that they would need input from an ad hoc committee, considering that Basham is appreciated by more of the younger generations and Crabtree is well- known and praised by older generations of former Lincoln students. Some board members even suggested combining the two names to have the theater named after both men or simply leaving it as the Lincoln High School Theater. The board agreed to meet with the ad hoc committee and return to this item at a later date. In other news More than 20 Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School's students in the Kiwanis Kids Club, also known as the "K-Kids Club," presented a plaque of appreciation to the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln Foothills during Tuesday's school board meeting. "K-Kids" Club began at Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School in 2015, according to K-Kids Club members who spoke during Tuesday's meeting. The club includes students from third- to fifth-grades. The students serve on three committees: leadership, service and fundraising. Each student was given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the school board and some shared the progress that the club has made throughout the school year. This year alone, according to students, the K-Kids have made blankets for south Placer Kaiser oncology patients, volunteered at Sunset Retirement Home, collected donations for Salvation Army, put together Thanksgiving gift baskets for those in need, among other projects. The students thanked Mary and Mike Luciano of the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln Foothills for helping start the K-Kids Club at Carlin C. Coppin seven years ago, as well as the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln Foothills as a whole. "During the last seven years, the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln Foothills has not only supported us kids but have been dedicated advisors and sponsors," said K-Kids Club President and Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School student Erin Dailey. "They (the Kiwanis) put on fantastic safety days for a number of our elementary schools by inviting our public safety officers, firemen and first responders to discuss safety at home and in the neighborhood, and have supported a wonderful after-school program for a number of years providing tutors and snacks." "On behalf of the students at Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School and other students of Western Placer Unified School District, we want to present you with this plaque of appreciation for all that you have done for us," Dailey said.