Opportunity “Knoched” and the South Butler County School District answered.

The school district will become the Knoch School District as early as the 2022-23 school year following the passage of a bill introduced by state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, in both the state House and Senate that was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

The school district can now change its name, a suggestion originally brought to the board by Superintendent David Foley, who noted that Knoch is a better identifier for the school district than its current name.

"I think it better identifies who we are," Foley said. "The transition from South Butler to Knoch doesn't mean we'll forget about all the past that South Butler had, but we do look forward to some new and great things happening in the school district."

It's hard to argue with that. South Butler's high school is named Knoch High School, and its team is the Knoch Knights. When other sports teams say they are playing the school, they say they are going up against Knoch, not South Butler County.

The school board will also discuss changing the names of the South Butler Primary Center and South Butler Intermediate Elementary School to Knoch.

Foley said the benefits of doing so are turning the page to a new era for the district that will coincide with a large renovation project being planned for the high school and middle school, leaving behind the district's labor issues of several years ago, better learning opportunities for students in new science and STEM labs, modernizing academics in the district and providing students with new opportunities in academics, arts and athletics.

The name change celebrates moving forward while looking backward, as the Knoch name hails from the property's former owner — Eva Knoch, who donated her farm to the district decades ago.

One concept that has been floated is a community event at the annual pie festival that might include some of Knoch's descendants. That sounds like a great idea.

The school district's name change is something to celebrate, not only because it allows for all of the schools and the district's name itself to become more uniform, but also because it is being accompanied by a renovation project that will improve classrooms and curriculum in the process.

We look forward to when the name change is made official.

— NCD