Geary County Commissioner Larry Hicks wants to see Washington Elementary School in Junction City renamed after the school’s former principal Lorraine Walker.  Walker died last April.

Speaking during the Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony in Junction City, Hicks said he was hopeful at some point there could be dialogue and conversation about the prospects of renaming the school. “Now I know there are others who have worked in this industry years on end who are also worthy of having a school named after them. But I think history will show that none of them literally died on the job in the midst of the work they loved and treasured most, as Lorraine Walker did.”

There is a policy in USD 475 on the naming of buildings in the district. Board of Education member Dr. Ferrill Miller said, “It’s been in effect some time now, that a person who has worked in the district, or being considered for the naming of a building or some part of a building…they would have had to have been passed five years. That’s what we’re following.” Miller noted policies can be changed at any time. “It just depends on the decision of the Board, and if they would want to make some change that way.”

Miller talked with JC Post after attending the Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony which was held at the Church of the Nazarene in Junction City.  Lorraine was also a member of the planning committee for the King Day ceremony before she passed away.