The sign was supposed to welcome all to Trenton High School, but when it turned out to be a “wecome” sign, the Trenton School District needed a quick do-over.
It was a social media circus created by a typo in big, block letters in the Welcome to Trenton High School sign.
The sign stretches the entire length of the football stands.
When the sign was put up over the weekend, district officials immediately spotted the welcome was missing a little something — the block letter “L.”
And then, the calls started.
When School Supt. Doug Mentzer saw the sign his immediate thought was not to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of the mistake or go into a finger pointing frenzy.
Instead, Mentzer saw the bigger picture, recognizing how much it’s going to enhance the football field — once the mistake is fixed — and future signage opportunities.
Minus the error, which he knew had to be fixed, the quality of the sign is good.
The district has an agreement with Gorno Ford and the sign is a part of their advertising partnership.
The dealership has co-naming rights for the field known as Gorno Ford Farrer Field.
Gorno has a five-year advertising agreement which includes signage on the field.
It’s a $35,000 investment in the school district from Gorno Ford.
“It won’t cost us one dollar,” Mentzer said, putting a lot of concerns at ease. “I knew there would be no problem redoing the sign. We should have a new one in place by Wednesday.”
The fact that it could be fixed so quickly was one of the reasons the superintendent was at ease about the situation.
“It is what it is,” he said at the time and was ready to move on.
But, social media was not.
Mentzer was taken aback by how quickly the situation blew up and how critical people were online.
Some reacted to the flub as if the school had no idea there was a problem with the sign.
Even people from opposing schools chimed in to take a jab at the mistake.
Perhaps finding the situation a bit too much to ignore, Mentzer posted a message on the district’s social media account Monday evening to address the situation.
“What a weekend, “ Mentzer said. “Yes, we are well aware of the misspelling on Westfield. I want to extend my gratitude for the outreach, the comments, and the jokes that have gone along with that misspelling. Rest assured, we have things in place to get it fixed as soon as possible. So, the big fix is coming this Wednesday.”
Mentzer used the platform to highlight a few positive things going on in the district, such as the partnership with Gorno Ford, the launch of the district’s new website, and the anticipated start of new fall activities.
He titled his videotaped message “spelling mistake of the year,” and kept the tone lighthearted.
Although the mistake was not made on the school district’s end, he said he is not going to single out who made it.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” he said.
Mentzer said people can relax, everything is going to be just fine.
With all of the issues the district has to face he said there is no need to fret over this one.
“People deserve a second chance,” he said.