Quick Take
A Pajaro Valley Unified School District committee has recommended renaming Cesar E. Chavez Middle School either Central Coast Middle School or Tagami Hashimoto Middle School following allegations of sexual abuse against the late civil rights and farmworker advocate that surfaced earlier this year. The school board reviewed the options last week and is expected to vote on a new name at a future meeting.
A Cesar E. Chavez Middle School group tasked with coming up with a new name for the Watsonville school – following revelations of sex abuse accusations against the late civil rights and farmworker advocate earlier this year – has made two recommendations to the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board.
Central Coast Middle School and Tagami Hashimoto Middle School are the group’s first and second choices, respectively.
The school board discussed the recommendations during its Wednesday meeting, but will vote to select a name at a later meeting. Trustees first discussed the potential to change the school’s name at an April meeting before the district convened a group of nine staff members, students, parents and community members to explore potential options for names.
During last week’s presentation, district officials said the group selected Central Coast Middle School as its top choice because it is representative of the region the school serves and it allows the school to keep its acronym, CCMS.
CCMS appears on signs and uniforms, which would otherwise have to be changed and would come at an extra cost. With this option, the total cost to change the name would be under $25,000.
The group selected its second option, Tagami Hashimoto Middle School, as it honors local educators Jeff Tagami and Mas Hashimoto. Hashimoto taught history at Watsonville High School and was committed to educating people about the Japanese American experience, including their time in incarceration camps. Tagami, a Filipino American poet, taught in the Cabrillo College English Department and similarly dedicated himself to bringing the contributions and struggles of Asian Americans to the forefront.
That option would cost about $110,000 in order to do branding and clothing updates and replacement of the school’s signage.
Trustee Misty Navarro said she supported Central Coast Middle because she had been hearing that preference from community members.
“It’s a no-brainer,” she said. “I wish we could vote now.”
Trustee Olivia Flores expressed a similar sentiment.
“I think it’s the right choice for the school,” she said.
The accusations against Chávez first surfaced in a New York Times investigation in March, unleashing a wave of declarations by organizations locally and nationally to remove or rename awards, institutions and holidays named after him. In California, about 40 public schools and centers are named after Chávez, according to the California Department of Education.
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