Thompson-Elkhardt Middle School.

Or Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School.

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden says his administration will propose either of those two names for the “new” middle school that will open in the fall in the building that currently houses Thompson Middle School on South Side.

“It’s a safe option,” Dr. Bedden said of the two recommended names at Monday’s School Board meeting at Huguenot High School, which is next to Thompson Middle School on Forest Hill Avenue.

But those names are not the only options.

The School Board has scheduled two public meetings over the next two weeks to allow the public to suggest names for the new school.

The first is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 8, at the Southside Community Service Center, 4100 Hull St., at Southside Plaza.

The second is to be a part of the regularly scheduled School Board meeting 6 p.m. Monday, June 15, in the auditorium at Huguenot High School, 7945 Forest Hill Ave.

Dr. Bedden said he’d like the board to adopt a new name no later than July 13.

That would allow the school administration to forward the new name to the Virginia Department of Education, which in turn would send it to the U.S. Department of Education, which then would allocate a new federal ID number to the new school.

The name change would allow the new school to receive conditional state accreditation in its first year. Currently, Thompson is denied accreditation by the state education department and is trying to make improvements with the help of a consultant approved by, and largely paid for, by the state. Elkhardt is accredited with warning, which is one step from being denied accreditation.

A new federal ID also would open the door for more federal funds to flow into the new school for nutrition assistance and other programs.

The new school in the Thompson building would accommodate current Thompson students while adding students who previously attended Elkhardt Middle School on South Side. The Elkhardt building was closed in February because of mold and other air quality issues, sending about 500 students across town to the former Clark Springs Elementary School building in the Randolph neighborhood near Virginia Commonwealth University.

The addition of those students to the Thompson building would nearly double the student population from 500 to about 1,000. — JOEY MATTHEWS