Poynette School District athletic teams no longer will be known as the Indians starting next year.

In a move that surprised Craig McCallum, principal at Poynette High School, the Poynette School Board voted 4-1 on Monday to change the nickname by Jan. 1, 2010. The board did not deal with what the new name will be.

"I guess I didn’t think it would happen this quickly. I think that this is an emotional situation, and it’s one of those things people have very strong feelings about, and it’s not easy for a school board to make a decision one way or the other," McCallum said.

On Monday’s agenda, the item was listed as discussion/action of Native American nickname. McCallum said he has not had any complaints from the community. There were few, if any, members of the public at Monday’s meeting.

"I didn’t know that this was going to happen, but this has been discussed for a long time and the board felt a need to be proactive and deal with it before having to be made to change it, I guess," McCallum said.

For School Board member Jerry Burke, who voted in favor of the name change, the issue is not new.

"This is a topic that’s been on the back burner for some time," he said.

Poynette has not used its mascot — an Indian in a feathered headdress — in at least 10 years, McCallum said. Only the freshman basketball jerseys and the gym floor currently show the logo, he said.

A bill pending in the state Legislature would allow a resident of a school district to submit a complaint to the Department of Public Instruction objecting to a district’s race-based mascot or logo.