In a surprise decision during a study session Tuesday, Dec. 17, the school board named the new school Iron Horse High School, with “Thunder” as the mascot.
It will open for the 2026-27 school year.
The naming comes on the heels of Superintendent Paul Sweat’s announcement that current Wasatch High principal Justin Kelly will take the helm of the newly named school.
Iron Horse was chosen over two other possibilities, Deer Creek High School or North Fields High School.
Kelly said Tuesday he’s excited to share a name with the community.
“This name is different than anything else, and something we can kind of put the heart and soul into – Iron Horse,” he said. “Could I have done it with North Fields? Yeah, I could’ve. Could I have done it with Deer Creek? Yeah, I could’ve. But not the same way.”
Branding experts from the Texas-based Varsity Brands gave a presentation to the board Tuesday, sharing ideas for mascots, slogans, colors and logos for each of the three options.
The company’s vice president of branding, Helen Price, said the Iron Horse Thunder was her favorite of the three because of its ties to the Heber Valley’s railroad history.
She also said the new high school’s architecture evokes a train station.
“When we’re looking at this, we just go, ‘Wow,’” she said. “Wow factor – the Iron Horse. We just love the strength of this, the uniqueness of it. I think your students could rally around it.”
She shared ideas for apparel and names for sports fields and gathering spaces that center on a train theme.
Board member Tyler Bluth said the choice made sense.
“This aligns with the theme of what we’ve done with this high school,” he said. “We’ve said it from the start: we’ve built a $160 million train station. We have to honor that some.”
But not every board member was enthusiastic about the idea.
“You’ve been very, very persistent with this name. Hasn’t always been my favorite, my No. 1 choice, but you’ve been very, very persistent with this name,” board member Kim Dickerson said. “If this is the name you want to go with, I’m fine going with it. I support it. I’ll back you up. I’ll rah-rah behind it.”
And board member Marianne Allen commented she felt blindsided by the sudden decision. A vote on the high school’s name wasn’t on the agenda.
“It’s just puzzling to me, because we had come to an agreement, the five of us, and it was pushed back, and here we are with no heads up. This is not what–”
“There’s been a heads up,” Bluth cut in.
“But not on this,” Allen said.
She also pushed back against Kelly’s insistence that most of the community supported Iron Horse as a name.
“I just want to go back to something that you said: that 90% of people liked Iron Horse,” she said. “But yet, when we polled the community, teachers, students and parents, it’s not the No. 1. It’s No. 3. Deer Creek High was No. 1, so why would we move away from that?”
In September, the board abandoned its first pick for name – Deer Creek High School – and asked locals to fill out a survey about their preferences.
A study session later that month showed stakeholders preferred Mountain Valley or North Fields as the high school’s name. Iron Horse was the third choice for students and district staff.
Still, in the end, all five board members agreed to support the Iron Horse name.
Sweat announced the news during the regular session later Tuesday evening.
The new high school is under construction near 1000 West along state Route 113, just west of Heber.
