BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Massena Central School Board of Education member Robert LeBlanc has suggested the district should consider commissioning a life-size Spartan statue as a mark of pride.

LeBlanc recently told fellow board members the idea came to him while he was visiting college campuses, saying a number of universities have them as a mark of pride on campus.

"At universities you see a lot of pride in their kids, especially before they graduate and taking pictures on their campus with statues. I was thinking, we have a new logo and we’re trying to bring pride to our students," he said.

He said having a similar statue at Massena could be something graduating seniors have a photo taken with, noting that when they return "they look at it and this reminds them of who we are."

But Vice President Kevin Perretta was hesitant to fully support the plan, saying the district has specific branding to follow. He said the brand includes a two-dimensional Spartan already but a statue would require a three-dimensional standardized branding prototype.

"That would have to precede that being created because you’d have scales to factor in exactly. They have to be the same model and scale no matter what size it got in order to follow our criteria that we used with the creation of the Spartan. Just something to consider,” he said.

LeBlanc said the idea was one he wanted to pass on to board members for consideration, noting that he did not consider every detail just yet.

LeBlanc did say though that he liked the idea of a local artist potentially helping with the project and hoped the district did move forward with the plan that Alcoa would be open to donating aluminum for the statue's creation.

“We have the pride of having Alcoa as the main manufacturer in our town,” he said.

While Perretta suggested a review of the project before moving forward, Superintendent Ron Burke voiced his support saying he thought it would be a great idea.

Burke said he had multiple conversations with High School Principal Alan Oliver about school pride.

“Both of my last schools had that. One was a portable Golden Bear that we could take to graduation. That was huge and the kids loved taking their photos with it. It’s nice. It’s not a cheesy replica. We also had the stuffed cougar at Edwards-Knox, which is also a source of pride," Burke said.

Officials suggested that the plan could be part of the district's next capital project, which is in the preliminary planning stages with new architecture firm King + King Architects of Syracuse.

Among the projects that have already been floated are modern sports facilities, something LeBlanc spoke highly of following a recent visit to Madrid-Waddington Central School.

Following his tour of the facilities, he said he felt Massena "could do better," suggesting the district look towards upgraded and new facilities that align with student's interests in outdoor sports.

Though the board just selected King + King in May, board members say they are in the preliminary stages of planning the district's next capital project.