MT. VERNON — After a 9-month wait and much debate within the community, Mt. Vernon Township High School’s new gymnasium will be named after Stanley Changnon.

The Mt. Vernon Township High School Board of Education voted 6-0 in favor of naming the gym after the Hall of Fame boys basketball coach who led the school to two of its four state championships. Board member Norma Fairchild abstained from the vote.

The gymnasium at the old campus was named after Changnon in 1984.

The naming of the new gym had been up for debate for a little over a year after the board looked to name the facility after the father of then-Board President Bill Beck in July 2016. Beck had given $125,000 toward the $250,000 naming rights price tag. The other half was from Kenny Trout who had given $250,000 to the school with half of that used to name the cafeteria after Trout’s mother and the other half entrusted to Beck to use for the school.

After community backlash, the Board backed away from naming the gym after Beck and discontinued the opportunity to purchase the gym’s naming rights.

A previous effort to name the gymnasium after Changnon failed in November 2016 after a 3-3 vote.