In the afterglow of the Wimberley Pride parade, Wimberley ISD is under scrutiny for releasing a statement against a WISD School Board member wearing a shirt with the Wimberley High School logo against the backdrop of a pride flag.
During the Wimberley pride parade, WISD School Board member Lori Olson, who was out of town, posted a picture on Facebook of her wearing a shirt with the Wimberley High School logo against the backdrop of a pride flag.
“The Board of Trustees, acting as governing board, and any Wimberley ISD administrator, in a position of authority, will always protect the official marks/logo of Wimberley ISD and will not approve the brand's use in any altered format.”
–District statement by Wimberlery ISD Superintendent Dwain York
Days after the parade, Wimberley ISD Superintendent Dwain York released a statement, which in part said the district and district employees will not want condone any alteration to the logo of Wimberley ISD.
"If a non-school related group alters and uses the official marks/logo of Wimberley ISD accompanied by text, it would suggest to the viewer, that Wimberley ISD endorses the group's activities. The Board of Trustees, acting as governing board, and any Wimberley ISD administrator, in a position of authority, will always protect the official marks/logo of Wimberley ISD and will not approve the brand's use in any altered format."
In response, Wimberley Pride released a statement that the logo has been altered on several occasions without comment from the district. The logo is used at other business such as the Texan Car Wash and Ace Hardware, which are non-school related groups. Wimberley Pride feel it was a direct attack on the LGBTQ community.
“This is the first time that WISD has issued a public admonishment of the use of their logo in this fashion. No district wide admonishment has been issued before over the use of this logo, even though this logo is regularly seen altered, modified, and rebranded in personal sporting announcements, apparel sold in local gift shops, used in religious decorations, in secular use, and other environments. Only in the cases when the logo was used with an LGBTQ association has there been a public admonishment. This is in notable contrast to a school district that claims a designation of #noplaceforhate,” a Wimberley Pride press release stated.
The post sparked so much attention that Wimberley Pride said the rainbow logo resulted in inquiries to the district superintendent and now an email and letter writing campaign calling for disciplinary action against the school board member for wearing this item of clothing in a Facebook post.
Olson could not comment and referred the Hays Free Press to Wimberley ISD Communications Officer Deyanira Romo Rossell, who sent a statement from Dwain York, Wimberley ISD Superintendent of Schools that the district will develop clearer guidelines for their logo.
“Learning from this situation, we know moving forward, we need to create clear brand guidelines for the use of the Texan logo so that the District is fair and consistent. That is a discussion we are having now, putting together a branding committee and making these important decisions,” York said in email statement.
