Berlin mascot case on hold

A lawsuit regarding the mascot for Berlin High School has been placed on hold while another similar case proceeds.

In both Mukwanago and Berlin, complaints by residents to the Department of Public Instruction resulted in orders to change their "Indians" nickname for athletic teams.

Parents in Mukwanago sued to overturn the decision. They won at the circuit court level - prompting some Berlin residents to hire the same lawyers and file a similar suit.

But last week, the state appeals court overturned the circuit court, ruling the parents didn't have the proper standing. The district now has until 2014 to drop the nickname, according to DPI officials.

As a result of the Mukwanago case, the Berlin lawsuit has been put on hold. According to online court records, the Berlin case will wait to see if the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear an appeal in the Mukwanago case. There is no set timeframe for the high court to decide if it will hear the case.

A status conference is set for May 22 for the Berlin case.

Meanwhile, Mukwanago Superintendent Paul Strobel said the district has no plans to change its nickname. He said district officials have asked Republican legislators to repeal the law granting DPI the authority to strip nicknames from schools, and parents are preparing to ask the state Supreme Court to take up their case.

Legislators passed a law in 2010 giving the state Department of Public Instruction the authority to force schools to drop race-based nicknames, logos and mascots if a complaint was filed and the agency found the names or images were discriminatory.