Goshen School Board member Bob Duell listens during the meeting Monday. Duell made the motion to change the high school and middle school's mascot from Redskins. The school board voted 5-2 in favor of changing the mascot effective Jan. 1, 2016.

GOSHEN, Ind. – An Indiana school district has become the latest to enter the debate over Native American names and mascots for sports teams after its board voted to retire its “Redskins” nickname.

The board of Goshen Community Schools, with an enrollment of about 6,600 students, on Monday voted 5-2 to retire the name and logos from the uniforms and schools of all its athletic teams. More than 200 people attended the meeting, which was held in the Goshen High School auditorium to accommodate the overflow crowd.

According to the Goshen (Ind.) News, the decision came after nearly four hours of public comments from 49 people and the seven board members, speaking on both sides of the issue.

“I think our nation is not ready yet for the change and I don’t think our community is ready for the change,” said school board vice president Jim Ramer, who voted against the change.

The “Redskins” name is also at the forefront of a debate involving the NFL team in the nation’s capital, which has been under pressure for more than a decade to change its name and logo. Lawsuits have dogged owner Dan Snyder, and earlier this year, the Trademark Trials and Appeal Board canceled the franchise’s trademark because “a substantial composite of Native Americans found the term ‘Redskins’ to be disparaging.”

Washington is perhaps the most notable of teams across the country to depict Native Americans in their names and mascots. According to MascotDB.com, an online database of the nation’s mascots created in 2006 by Terry Borning, nearly 2,000 sports teams — including high school, college, pro and semi-pro— reference Redskins, Braves, Chiefs, Indians and other Native American names.

In Goshen, the most recent discussion about the nickname began last month, when Dave Ostergren and Marilyn Torres, both of Goshen, addressed board members to share concerns about the negative effects the term “Redskins” might have on students.

Throughout the two-month discussion, there was no shortage of Goshen High School alumnus voicing support online for keeping the nickname. At Monday’s meeting, Corey Shields, a 2005 Goshen graduate, spoke in support of keeping the name.

“From a flag in South Carolina to a mascot and nickname, history is being messed with by so few people,” Shields said. “You’re changing our constitutional freedoms and the history that was worked so hard for.”

According to an estimate from Athletic Director Larry Kissinger, making the required changes to uniforms and facilities could cost the school corporation between $7,000 and $16,000, said board member Bob Duell.

“A lot of that depends on how much we remove,” he said, explaining that some athletes have spears on their shorts or helmets.

The board on Monday did not decide what the future mascot might be. That decision, said School Board President Cathie Cripe, will be left to the individual schools to decide.

“The principals, staff and students at Goshen Middle School and Goshen High School will get to choose,” Cripe said. “It’s their mascot. It’s not the school board’s job to decide that.”

The Goshen (Ind.) News contributed to this story.