Voters say no to Biden

Vice President Joe Biden was on the losing side of an election, it was announced Monday night.

The name of the Delaware icon was on the ballot to name a new elementary school in the Brandywine School District.

But the new school will not be named Joseph R. Biden Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center. Instead, after 1,350 votes were tallied, it will be the Hanby Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center.

The new school, scheduled to be open in 2011, is still under construction. It’s on the site of the old Hanby Middle School in Wilmington. Students currently in Brandywood Elementary will be enrolling in the new school next fall.

“We are excited about our new name and vow to continue embracing and inspiring our students everyday,” said Brandywood Elementary Principal, Veronica Wilkie.

The name was selected by the public during a month-long voting period. The public was asked to vote for one of the finalists: Joseph R. Biden Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center; Brandywood Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center; Chalfonte Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center; Dr. Ben Ellis Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center; or Hanby Elementary School & Bush Early Education Center.

The results must certainly be good news to the website “Vote No To Joe!” According to an anonymous statement on the site, “Most people feel it is inappropriate to name a public building after someone still in office. Mr. Biden will receive many honors in time. Let’s not make this one of them.”

The website also provided a link to Biden’s contact information so people could ask him to remove his name from the contest.

The new school will be Delaware’s first LEED-certified school. The green school will feature a rooftop rainwater collection system, heavily insulated, energy-efficient walls, LED lights in the hallways and parking lots, and more.

Nearly 95 percent of the materials from the demolition of the previous school building on the site were re-used.