A Plano Senior High School alumnus is calling on Plano ISD to replace a memorial honoring deceased students and alumni after its removal during campus renovations.
A petition calling for the replacement of a memorial at Plano Senior High School has gained more than 500 signatures, according to its organizer, Zack Rabah, whose late brother was among those honored at the site.
The memorial, which featured plaques commemorating members of the school community who had died, was removed as part of ongoing campus renovations. Rabah said Plano ISD has not announced plans to replace it.
Rabah’s brother, Gabriel Rabah, died Nov. 4, 2016. His name was included on the memorial wall, which became a meaningful place for the family to visit.
“That wall was not just a structure,” Rabah wrote in his petition. “It was a place we could visit, reflect, and feel connected to Gabriel. Knowing his name was honored there brought comfort during an unimaginable time of grief.”
Rabah said his family was not notified when the memorial was removed. His wife learned of its removal during a visit to the school, and Rabah said it took approximately two weeks to retrieve his brother’s plaque.
“When the remodel began and the memorial was taken down without any plan to replace it, that comfort was taken with it,” Rabah wrote.
Rabah launched an online petition asking Plano ISD to acknowledge the memorial’s removal and commit to installing a permanent replacement on the renovated campus.
The petition also requests that the district establish a committee of students, alumni and affected families to help design the new memorial, identify funding and a timeline for its installation, and place it in a prominent location.
Within 35 hours of launching the petition, Rabah said it had collected more than 500 signatures. Now, it has over 1,000.
“For our family, and for every family who lost someone remembered on that wall, the silence from the school district has been deeply painful,” Rabah wrote.