Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee members have failed to agree on a student group’s request to buy, with its own funds, a shark costume for a mascot at school sports events.
The mako shark mascot was the top choice earlier this year in a poll of students, staff and alumni conducted by the school’s spirit club, led by rising 10th-graders Charlotte Cramer and Madison Curelli.
That poll, however, did not include the existing Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Vineyarders mascot, an unsmiling fisherman logo that seldom is seen.
At the school committee’s June 22 meeting, member Amy Houghton said the fisherman mascot should be part of the discussion.
“I understand that there has been concern about how that image is not something that students and faculty feel comfortable having as our image,” she said.
“If there’s a problem with the fisherman, we should put it on the table, [or] we can get a fisherman costume,” Ms. Houghton said.
Sean Mulvey, a longtime guidance counselor at the high school who has been the school’s principal for the past year, said the fisherman appears to be a dud with the school community.
“From what I have heard, it’s not a cheerful thing,” he said.
Committee member Kathryn Shertzer said the committee needs to craft a policy in mascot decisions so that there is a consistent procedure to follow.
“It has nothing to do with the kids. I just think until we have a policy put in place, we are again just doing whatever we want,” Ms. Shertzer said.
Assistant principal Justine DeOliveira pleaded for the students’ costume request, saying the shark is not intended to replace the Vineyarders team name or any other athletic department branding.
“These younger grades are looking to build school spirit, and whether it’s the official mascot or not, if they can just buy a costume now, it would be a step in the right direction,” Ms. DeOliveira said.
“It’s grassroots and it’s really coming from the kids, and they’ve done a lot of work [in] getting a lot of different input,” she said.
Sarah Murphy, Marcia Shefrin, Jennifer Cutrer and chair Skipper Manter voted in favor of the costume, Ms. Shertzer voted nay and Amy Houghton, Rizwan Malik and Elliott Bennett abstained, resulting in a denial of the motion for lack of a quorum.
The school committee is expected to take the issue up again on July 6.
In other business June 22, the school committee approved a short-term contract for Mr. Mulvey, whose job as principal ended June 30, to work with incoming principal Bryan Lombardi until Mr. Mulvey’s counseling job resumes at the end of the summer.
Mr. Mulvey will be paid $28,464 to assist with Mr. Lombardi’s transition from July 1 to August 21.
Superintendent of schools Richard Smith, in his last meeting with the high school committee before retiring this week, said Mr. Lombardi has moved to the Island.
The committee also heard a presentation from high school coordinator Sam Hart and athletic director Mark McCarthy on plans for the athletic facilities east of Sanderson Road.
The recently-approved $333.5 million high school renovation and addition project is taking place entirely on the west side of Sanderson, including the track and field area.
The school will look to donors for athletic field work east of Sanderson, Mr. Mulvey said.
“We won’t be going back to the town to ask for more money,” he said.
The plans include pickleball and tennis courts, softball and baseball fields and new parking for 100 vehicles to eliminate headfirst parking on Sanderson Road, Mr. McCarthy said.
This article appears in July 3, 2026.
Private purchases are NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS.
Why do students need permission from anyone to buy something with their own money?
I appreciate the students’ desire to build school spirit, and I commend them for taking the initiative. My concern isn’t with the students. It’s with the choice of symbol.
I still don’t understand why a school would choose a shark as its mascot. Whether fair or not, sharks have come to represent viciousness, intimidation, and violence. At a time when our culture already seems saturated with those qualities, why would a school choose to celebrate them?
The article says the shark costume isn’t intended to replace the Vineyarders name or the school’s athletic branding. If that’s true, then the committee still has every reason to choose a mascot that actually represents Martha’s Vineyard. An Osprey would have been a far better choice. It is an iconic Vineyard species, a powerful predator, and a symbol woven into the Island’s landscape. It represents strength and resilience without glorifying violence.
The student vote was 54 percent to 46 percent. That’s hardly a rejection of the Osprey. Nearly half the students agreed it was the better choice.
It’s unsettling that this school committee can’t get on board with supporting the school community in their desire to change the mascot. I’ve lived here over 30 years, put 4 kids through the schools, and have never, ever heard of the Fisherman mascot. However I have had many many issues with the quality of education over the years and truly that’s where the school committee should focus their efforts. If they’re not intelligent enough to move forward on this benign decision what else are they missing?
Can we see the fisherman logo, please? Sounds cool, to be honest.