Superintendent Michael McKie said Aug. 27 in front of dozens of alumni, parents and other stakeholders that Hays High School’s fight song is now in the hands of the students—one month after “Dixie” was removed in light of a national dialogue on the Confederate flag.

“Dixie,” which has historically been associated with the Confederacy, was adopted as Hays High School’s fight song after a period during which it was “On Wisconsin.” On July 28 the district released a statement announcing “Dixie” had been retired as the school’s fight song, and it was moving forward with “On Wisconsin.”

“I want to reassure the public and, more importantly, the Hays High School student body we’re going to actively engage the students in the selection of a fight song,” McKie said. “We are committed to make that happen by the end of January. We understand the urgency in reference to a fight song.”

However, he said that it is going to take some time to make the decision if it is going to be done right. The process will be student-driven as they will decide what songs should be in the running and what the criteria will be for its next fight song.

But football player and Hays senior Daniel Bice said the vote should be done sooner.

“I don’t want to spend my senior year knowing that I can’t listen to 'Dixie' when we score a touchdown,” Bice said.

“I know that a few aren’t too happy with the decisions that were made,” he said. “Most are neutral, but a great many do not like this.”

About 15 stakeholders spoke during the public comment period of the Aug. 27 Hays CISD board of trustees meeting to voice their opinion on the removal of “Dixie” as the school’s fight song.

Parker Ray, a Hays High School 2015 graduate, supported the removal of “Dixie.”

“I firmly believe that [the song] marks a point in history where it was OK to belittle other human beings, and I commend you all for making this decision,” Ray said. “I don’t care what the next fight song is as long as you all keep it not 'Dixie.'”

Trustees also considered adding language to a policy for the naming of school mascots, the mascot’s likeness and school colors. The current policy allows room for interpretation, and that has resulted in gradual changes to the Hays High School mascot that have made it unrecognizable, trustee Sandra Bryant said.

The board directed staff to firm up the language of the policy so that the board has more oversight in such decisions.

“I hope when we vote on this in September that it has a little more teeth,” Board President Meredith Keller said.

The board also unanimously approved adopting the 2015-16 budget—which totals $141.76 million, an increase of $11.17 million from the previous budget year.