A former Kennett Consolidated School District board member has expressed concern about what appears to be a new school logo.

Nick Perigo, a graduate from the class of 1977 who also serves as a volunteer football coach for the team, said he was seeking “clarification and information” at the Sept. 12 board meeting about a “K” surrounded by a circle that he’s seen “out and about” in Kennett Square.

He told the board members during the meeting’s public input session that the new design has recently appeared on T-shirts, certificates and public announcements representing the Kennett School District, replacing the traditional block “K.” He added that unnamed folks connected with the school have told him it’s the “new logo” or possibly an additional academic one.

Not having heard anything about it previously, Perigo said he checked the board minutes to ascertain the logo’s approval, but found none.

He also said he called Alumni Association President Bob George – a member of the Class of 1964, who told Perigo he had heard nothing about it and had not been contacted by the school.

This left Perigo with three issues: That the new logo was not approved by the board; That having a new logo and an old one present at the same time confused rather than clarified the district “brand.” And the fear that the school administration would merely go ahead and incrementally replace all the block “K” logos including the water tower, the football field, the parking lot flags and the gym floor without notice

He added he personally feels sentimentally that the “K” block can stand on its own and reflects more correctly than the circled “K” the traditions of Kennett High School and its town.

George, for his part, said he had concerns about the lack of communication the administration appeared to have had with alumni.

He said when he heard about the change, he called School Board President Vicki Gehrt, and she told him the logo was “in the works” and that she had advised Communications Specialist Nikki Laws, who is working on the branding project, to make sure the alumni were on board.

“Nobody knew about it except in the workings of the administration. They didn’t seem to think it was important,” George said.

George also spoke about logos in general.  He said the logo of a company or organization is intellectual property and protected by copyright. Legally, logos that copy another brand or that are taken by another risk legal action, he said.

Gehrt has, in several of the past board meetings, mentioned that Laws was working on the school’s branding. Branding has been defined as “the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.”

Following Perigo’s presentation at the meeting, Gehrt told him, “I hope you continue to have a discussion with Nikki [Laws].”

In response to questions about the board’s lack of approval, Gehrt wrote in an email, “The board is fully aware of the task force and its work on ‘re-branding.’ The process is not complete, and final branding recommendations come to the board in October.”

Laws wrote: “The year-long KCSD brand refresh project has been informed by a diverse group of stakeholders, including students, families, staff, board members, community partners and alumni. We look forward to finalizing a brand style guide for official approval by the board this fall.”