This year, first graders at Cold Springs Elementary still met in an old two-room school house that has been used for generations, but that will change when the new school is built. Today, July 20, Missoula Superintendent Mark Thane confirmed that the new school will not be called Cold Springs, and explained why.

"The original brick school house located on Brick Street, has historically been known as Cold Springs School, Thane said. "Even after we move out and we leave that building on the site, people will still refer to it as Cold Springs, it is also a geographical reference to actual springs in the area. Given the historical nature of the name and the geographical reference we thought it would be appropriate to name the new school something different."

Thane says that ultimately, the power to choose a new name for the school will be left up to the school board, but efforts are underway to include the community in the decision.

We'll have a process where we will solicit input from students and the community," Thane said. "We'll likely have some committee that will sort it down to a reasonable number. We may have a process where we do a survey, or polling or voting to establish what the favorites are."

The process for choosing a new name for the school will begin in the fall.

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