Families say name of new Weber County high school came as a surprise

TAYLOR, Utah — A new high school in the Weber School District is under construction. The latest developments include landing on a school name, colors and mascot.

The Weber School District posted on their Facebook page that they sent out surveys asking families to weigh in on what to name the new high school in Taylor, Utah.

The name they chose — West Field High School — comes as a surprise to many families who say the name was not listed as an option.

There’s not much here right now, but come August ‘24, Weber School District will open a new high school:

West Field High School, home of the Longhorns.

Parents and future students weighing in… (1/2) @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/dOkRD6KP04

— Karah Brackin (@KB_ON_TV) April 15, 2022

Sisters Julia and Abby Richards will likely go to the new high school. They said they were surprised once they learned about the new name.

“We all got surveys. My class took them in school. The teacher said it would probably be one of the options we picked,” Julia said.

Abby said she thought the school names were already narrowed down to something different.

“My teacher had actually told us that it had been narrowed down to two options, which was like ‘Taylor’ or ‘Three Peaks’ for the name,” Abby said.

That’s why they and many others were surprised to learn the school board went with West Field High.

“They picked one off the list,” Julia said.

The name “West Field” came out of left field, said their mom, Lacy Richards.

“Taylor was kind of the overwhelming favorite that rose to the top, and then they took that and changed that to West Field instead, but that didn’t come back to the students who were surveyed or the families,” she said.

Brenda Forgacs, mom of two boys who will also likely go to West Field High, agrees.

“It feels like they asked for our opinions and they went in a total new direction,” Forgacs said.

According to the district’s Facebook page, the committee members chose the school’s name based on the area’s history and ties to agriculture.

The district noted when Weber County was first settled, the Taylor area was called “West Field.”

While the black and silver accents are a nod to Fremont and Roy High, the main school colors — burnt orange and white — is getting mixed reviews.

“There are other colors that are like the same right by us,” Julia said.

At the end of the day, Forgacs said she wants her sons to be proud of their school.

“I want our kids to be proud of their schools,” said Forgacs.

The mascots came down to the ducks and the longhorns. The board decided to go with the longhorns.

District officials said school boundaries will be decided later.