SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The Mohonasen Central School District has until the start of the Fall 2025 school year to remove its Native American Imagery. In the early hours of September 22, an unidentified group decided to make their own changes.

A school spokesperson says a mural on the school athletic shed depicting Native American imagery was done by Former Art Teacher, Jennifer Spath, in 2001. Security cameras captured someone who first came to the shed at 4:37 a.m. and painted over the mural. Later at 4:54 a.m., a vehicle let out two people who also went to the shed.

NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski spoke with parents on the nearby fields for practice; both local families and those from Fonda-Fultonville Central School, which is also going through similar changes. Neither group would go on camera and some said though this was vandalism, the school was going to remove it anyway. Others either spoke against the removal of imagery or declined to comment.

Mohon Superintendent, Shannon Shine, updated the school website with information on the team name and logos before last Friday’s incident. He says the state is not financially supporting the mandated changes; current estimates of costs are around $200,000.

The district has stopped purchasing anything with the previous branding and has plans to switch to just the name Mohonasen and “M” logos. The investigation into the vandalism of the shed is ongoing with the Rotterdam Police Department.