Status: Resolved

The SBHS athletic teams were formerly known as the "Rebels". Due to the historical controversies associated with the name and its disputed connection to the American Civil War, a "Captain Reb" mascot was discontinued in the early 1990s. However, the school continued with its nickname of "Rebels" until the local school board voted unanimously to retire the "Rebel" name by August 2017. A petition to put the name change to a referendum was signed by over 5% of South Burlington residents, the necessary threshold for the question to be put to a ballot, but the school board struck down the proposed referendum. The case is now being heard in the Vermont Supreme Court. The school board went ahead and approved the name change to "Wolves" on June 8, 2017 despite the pending court case.

"The Vermont Supreme Court has upheld the South Burlington School District’s decision not to put the contested matter of changing the school’s mascot to a districtwide vote."...

“Here, the item — the name of the District’s sports teams — that residents sought to include in a district-wide vote is not a matter within voters’ authority to decide at a district-wide meeting,” states the Supreme Court in its ruling. - Vermont Supreme Court - October 26, 2018