<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620853552746.png" alt=" The word "Redskins" on North High's basketball court will be painted over after the Wichita district dropped the controversial name. Suzanne Perez / KMUW" />
 <figcaption> The word "Redskins" on North High's basketball court will be painted over after the Wichita district dropped the controversial name. Suzanne Perez / KMUW</figcaption>
 </figure>By SUZANNE PEREZ <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-school-districts-find-ditching-offensive-mascots-costs-money">Kansas News Service</a>What does it cost a school district to change an offensive mascot?Some Kansas schools are starting to find out.Wichita school board members <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/wichita-public-schools-drops-redskins-name-north-high" target="_blank">voted in February</a> to get rid of the controversial Redskins mascot at North High School.They
 learned recently that replacing athletic uniforms, painting over a gym 
floor and retrofitting the marching band could cost upward of $400,000.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620853626718.jpeg" alt=" Renderings of North High's new baseball uniforms. Credit USD 259" />
 <figcaption> Renderings of North High's new baseball uniforms. Credit USD 259</figcaption>
 </figure>The board approved the first phase of expenditures in March, voting 
to spend $350,000 on new uniforms for the football, baseball and 
softball teams and other student activities.Terrell Davis, 
executive director of public affairs and special projects for the 
Wichita district, led a committee that recommended changing North’s 
mascot.He said removing the Redskins name from school uniforms 
and property will take time. The old mascot — in either words or images —
 appears on debate team blazers, bowling team jerseys, swimming pool 
flags, scoreboards and more.“We did an evaluation of all the 
uniforms they had to see where the term ‘Redskin’ was on,” Davis said. 
“And so to remove those things is what we’re working towards.“We also looked at where people were at in terms of their normal rotation of uniforms,” he said.Buying
 lots of uniforms at once resulted in some discounts, Davis said. 
Spending approved in March also included a new wrestling mat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620853666293.jpeg" alt=" The Wichita school district says removing the Redskins name from North High uniforms and property will take time and could cost around $400,000. Credit Suzanne Perez / KMUW" />
 <figcaption> The Wichita school district says removing the Redskins name from North High uniforms and property will take time and could cost around $400,000. Credit Suzanne Perez / KMUW</figcaption>
 </figure>A new gymnasium built as part of the Wichita district’s 2008 bond 
issue features North High’s new logo in the center — a red-and-white 
letter “N” with a Native American drum and feather. But stripes on 
either end of the basketball court say “Redskins” in large letters.As
 part of the mascot changes, those words will be painted over and the 
floor named in honor of Lynette Woodard, a North High graduate and 
basketball Hall-of-Famer.The Shawnee Mission school district in Johnson County approved a new policy in January <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-26/four-shawnee-mission-schools-will-have-new-mascots-after-years-of-using-native-american-imagery" target="_blank">barring mascots deemed derogatory or offensive</a>.To
 comply with the policy, Shawnee Mission North High and three elementary
 schools dropped mascots that referenced Native Americans. Shawnee 
Mission North announced earlier this month that <a href="https://www.kcur.org/education/2021-05-05/home-of-the-bison-shawnee-mission-north-officially-replaces-indians-mascot" target="_blank">it would replace its former “Indians” mascot with “Bison.”</a>District
 spokesman David A. Smith said the district is beginning to develop 
logos and branding for the new mascots but doesn’t yet have projected 
costs for the overhaul.Sheril Logan, a member of the Wichita 
school district, said during a recent meeting that the cost of new 
uniforms, equipment and renovations are necessary.“We want to make sure we remove all of the places where that name is,” Logan said.Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT&nbsp;or email her at perez@kmuw.org.

Kan. school districts find ditching offensive mascots expensive