The final mascot vote is in, but it won’t be announced yet.

“The Board of Education tasked the student body with answering the [physical mascot] question,” Manhattan High principal Greg Hoyt said, “and they deserve the first opportunity to hear the results.”

As a result, the mascot chosen by the student body will not be announced until the USD 383 board meeting tomorrow night. At that meeting, the board will vote on whether the mascot follows the criteria it determined during the Sept. 6 board meeting. The physical mascot must be distinct from Native American history and culture, respectful and inclusive of all students, and can’t be a human.

If the board approves the mascot, the next step will be determining how the mascot will be implemented. However, no thought has been put to this step yet.

“I have no idea [what the implementation will look like],” Hoyt said, “I haven’t even thought about that. We’re just addressing one question at a time.”