LEWISTON – School Committee member Norm Prevost gave his subcommittee’s recommendation for the name of the city’s new school opening in 2009: College Street Elementary School.

The school will be on College Street where a golf driving range used to be and will replace Pettingill Elementary School.

The selection was announced after input from Pettingill school students and staff, and others.

Several School Committee members were cool to Prevost’s recommendation because they didn’t want to name the building after a street. It should be named after a person, as are most of the other schools in Lewiston, several said.

“Here are some of the names I’ve come up with,” said James Handy as he read his list:

• William Frye, a Lewiston native who served as mayor, Maine Attorney General, a U.S. congressman and senator.

• Alonzo Garcelon, a Lewiston native and surgeon who served as Maine’s governor, played a big role in the choice of Lewiston as the site of Bates College, and founded the Lewiston Journal newspaper.

• Frank Coffin, Lewiston native, Bates College grad who served more than 40 years on the federal bench, including 11 years as chief judge of U.S. Court of Appeals.

• Paul Simard, a Lewiston police officer killed in the line of duty in July 1958.

• David Payne, a Lewiston police officer killed in the line of duty in July 1988.

• Giles Landry, a Maine state trooper from Lewiston killed in the line of duty in March 1989.

• Marsden Hartley, Lewiston native considered one of America’s most accomplished modernist painters.

• Geneva Kirk, Lewiston native, Lewiston High and Bates College graduate who was a long-time Lewiston educator. “She touched so many lives in Lewiston. She coached me on writing a speech for my senior banquet,” Handy said.

• Bernard Lown, Nobel Peace Prize recipient who graduated from Lewiston High School in 1938; Lown is a pioneering cardiologist credited with inventing the defibrillator.

“When you hear the bad rap about Lewiston people sometimes, it happened to me about a month ago, . . . we can say we have one of our graduates who was the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.” An honor doesn’t get much higher than that, Handy said.

With any one of the above names or others who have made a contribution, the School Department can help carry on the person’s work for generations of school children, Handy said. A school named after a great person can generate “teaching moments” for students, he said.

School Committee members Ronella Paradis and Leah Poulin agreed. Poulin said the College Street Elementary School is too much of a “city-fied” name, and doesn’t fit other Lewiston schools named after someone.

Prevost was frustrated. He pointed out he asked for everyone’s input as his committee worked on a name recommendation. “Where were these suggestions before? Thanks for the input,” he said.

Handy said he was not aware of the meetings, and suggested exploring names a bit more along with the recommended College Street name.

John Butler suggested the building committee that worked on the new school meet to come up with a recommendation.

The School Committee, which is the body that decides new building names, agreed. Action on the recommended name was tabled to the April 28 meeting.