SCARBOROUGH – The Titans, Red Storm and Red Rebels are among the top contenders to replace the Redskins as the mascot for Scarborough High School.

A survey of high school students earlier this year found they favored retaining the Redskins nickname by a margin of more than 2 to 1. But the school board voted unanimously in September to drop the nickname.

School districts across the country have been pressed by American Indian groups to change team names such as Redskins, Braves, Chiefs and others that refer to them.

Wiscasset and Sanford have chosen to retain the Redskins name.

The school board in Scarborough asked students, faculty members and city residents for alternatives to the Redskins nickname, which the school has used since 1938.

The student council and the principal, Andrew Dolloff, designed a ballot with 69 suggested mascot names. The names, many of which retained references to the color red, included Cardinals, Lobsters, Pirates, Rip Tide, Sharks and Vikings.

Students at the high school and middle school were polled and a table was set up to during the election to get voters’ opinions.

Seth Colton, a student council member, said a “substantial” number of people wrote in Redskins on their ballots, but that name will not be an option. He said names related to American Indians were not put on the ballot in order to avoid problems in the future.

American Indians who visited the school said using American Indians as mascots “objectifies people,” Colton said.

The school board will make the final decision, and could vote on the issue as soon as Dec. 7.

Deborah Jackson, the school board chairwoman, said the new name would likely go into effect immediately.

Jackson said the board hasn’t yet decided what to do with the large metal Indian head logo outside the school or those painted in the gym.

Few of the school’s athletic uniforms have the Redskins name on them. Most simply have a red “R” and some don’t have even that.