Throughout his nearly three decades of elected service to the Whitewater Unified School District, Jim Stewart made insurmountable contributions. One of the more tangible ones could be named in his honor next year, based on a plan in motion.
The WUSD School Board on Aug. 8 discussed naming the Whitewater High School auditorium in Stewart’s honor. During his time on the board, Stewart had advocated for the venue.
Stewart died late last year – the day after Thanksgiving – at age 85.
Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty presented the board with the naming proposal at the recent meeting and gave a ringing endorsement.
“I’m recommending that we begin considering the naming of the Jim Stewart Auditorium,” Pate-Hefty said.
Pate-Hefty, who assumed the top-level administrative role at WUSD two years ago, said the deep well knowledge she witnessed from Stewart was beneficial on a personal level and had ripple effects throughout the community.
“I can say as a new staff member to WUSD, that Jim was pivotal in making sure people had historical tours,” Pate-Hefty said. “He was a tremendous asset to our community.”
A still relatively new WUSD board policy stipulates a one-year waiting period for naming requests, meaning the earliest the sitting board will act on the proposal will be in August 2023.
Stewart, incidentally, was instrumental in crafting the naming rights board policy.
For the full story, see the print edition of the Whitewater Register.
