MONTVALE, N.J.—After months of discussion and debate, the final mascot recommendations are in: Pascack Valley High School chose the Panthers; Pascack Hills High School chose the Broncos.
Now it’s up to the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education at its March 8 meeting to listen, discuss, and evaluate the proposals. A final vote on the mascots is expected at the board’s meeting on March 22 at 7:30 p.m. [This time reflects an update from our original web story, based on the latest information from the district.]
Pascack Hills High School in Montvale serves families in Montvale and Woodcliff Lake. Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale serves families from Hillsdale and River Vale.
Late on Feb. 25, the student bodies at each school, plus staff, voted on three mascot options presented by mascot committees at each school. Their task: choose an appropriate, inclusive mascot for their schools, following the school board’s unanimous June 2020 decision to “retire” PH’s Cowboy mascot and PV’s Indian mascot.
At Pascack Hills, Broncos won with 548 votes (70.3%), Phoenix received 143 votes (18.4%), and Trail Blazers received 88 votes (11.3%). At Hills, 75.6% of eligible student and staff voted, with 779 of 1,030 eligible voting. A mascot final choice had to poll a majority of schoolwide votes to be presented to the BOE for consideration.
At Pascack Valley, Panthers won with 648 votes, about 69% of total voters. Of 1,266 eligible student and faculty voters, 946 voted, or about 75% of eligible voters. Green Wave garnered 167 votes (17.7%) and Hawks got 131 votes (13.8%).
For reporting on the naming and mascot issue from the award-winning PV Student Publication, visit pvsmokesignal.com/category/whats-in-a-name.