SOUTH DEERFIELD — Citing precedent set last year, the Frontier School Committee has declined to dedicate its volleyball court to longtime coach Sean MacDonald, who retired after the 2023-24 school year, capping off 21 years and a whole slew of sectional and state titles at the school.

In a brief remote meeting dedicated to the topic last month, the School Committee wrestled with the prospect of naming the volleyball court after MacDonald. Its members struggled with naming conventions used in the past, as the school’s gymnasium and track have both already been named for previous coaches and teachers at the school.

The committee voted “no” on the motion to dedicate the court via a 7-1 margin, with one abstention.

MacDonald won 11 state titles and 18 Western Mass. championships with the girls volleyball program during his tenure. He also took the boys program, which was formed in 2022, to a pair of sectional titles.

It was the teaching aspect that tripped up the majority of the committee’s members. Long-term education careers alongside distinguished coaching records are the common thread tying the Coach Bob Smith and Coach Walt Flynn Track, and Goodnow Gymnasium, which is named for the late Vi Goodnow.

“Education truly is our mission for all of us,” said member William Smith. “All of those people had a profound impact on students’ lives because they were all teachers. I’m not in any way trying to diminish what Sean’s accomplished.”

“It sounds like it’s straightforward: you had this coach who had an amazing run, 11 state championships is not going to be repeated anytime soon,” added Superintendent Darius Modestow, noting that it’s hard to “un-name something.”

“We’ve had other educators dedicate their entire lives to the community,” Modestow added.

The School Committee has a policy for naming facilities, although it does not lay out any explicit situations in which the committee should accept or deny requests. Rather, it states “naming a school facility is an important matter that deserves thoughtful attention” and that “the wishes of the community, including parents and students, should be considered in naming school facilities.”