WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A petition to allow the “Legacy of Wichita Falls High School to continue” on Change.org has gained steam since its creation on Wednesday, December 15.

As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, December 17, there have been 2,683 signatures to the petition, less than 48 hours after its initial creation.

With the creation of Legacy and Memorial High Schools, Rider High School and Hirschi High School will be repurposed into middle schools.

Old High, however, will be retired just over 100 years after its inception, and the building that stands on Avenue H will be sold, repurposed, or possibly torn down.

“As it now stands, the WFHS and its beloved Coyotes will cease to exist when the two new WFISD high schools are constructed,” the Change.org campaign states. “The other two high schools, Hirschi and Rider, will continue to exist within the WFISD as middle schools or alternate schools. The flagship school of Wichita Falls deserves the same treatment.”

This is not the first attempt to preserve a flagship, namesake high school in the city of Wichita Falls.

One of the finalists selected by the WFISD Naming Committee for what is now named Wichita Falls Legacy High School was, in fact, Wichita Falls High School.

Additionally, the mascot “Coyotes” was suggested 65 times by Wichita Falls residents between the two new high schools.

It is unclear at this time whether the creators of this petition want to keep the current Wichita Falls High School in the district by repurposing it into a middle school or if simply naming one of the new high schools the Wichita Falls Coyotes is the end goal.

Whatever the case may be, the petition continues to gain momentum online, and the creators are encouraging former and current Coyotes to sign the petition and let the WFISD Board of Trustees know they won’t be silent.

“We must let our collective voices be heard in the hopes of swaying the WFISD opinion, and keep the Coyotes and/or ‘Old High’ alive for another century!” the Change.org campaign states.