No-Bama! Board Rejects Renaming School After Messiah

Maybe in its place they can rename the school gym after him. After all, that seems lately to be where he spends most of his time. In the meantime, sanity has prevailed in Valley Stream, Long Island.

They said NO-bama.

A proposal to change the name of a Long Island public school to Barack Obama Elementary was scrapped this week after running into fierce public opposition.

Cristobal Stewart, a trustee of the school district in Valley Stream, first broached the idea of renaming the Clear Stream Avenue Elementary School in November to commemorate Obama's electoral triumph.

But the plan was met with loud resistance at a Nov. 24 hearing. Town residents and parents argued that the existing name, in place since 1924, represented a long and proud tradition that shouldn't be tinkered with.

Stewart argued with several people during the heated gathering and insisted that many parents in the ethnically diverse school supported the plan.

But he abandoned the campaign Monday during another public hearing that drew 70 people.

"We listened, we discussed it, we decided against it," said board member Elise Antonelli. "It's not happening.

"Clear Stream Avenue School has a strong history and tradition."

Oh well.