Quick Take
Following abuse allegations against farmworker and civil rights activist Cesar Chávez, Pajaro Valley Unified School District's governing board voted to rename his namesake Watsonville middle school Central Coast Middle School — a move that preserves its CCMS acronym and keeps rebranding costs under $25,000.
Months after sexual abuse allegations surfaced against farmworker and civil rights activist Cesar Chávez, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board voted to rename his namesake Watsonville middle school to Central Coast Middle School.
The accusations against Chávez were first publicized in a New York Times investigation in March, leading to a wave of organizations locally and nationally that removed awards, institutions and holidays named after him.
Pajaro Valley Unified trustees first discussed potentially changing the school’s name at an April meeting. The district then convened a group of nine staff, students, parents and community members to explore potential options for names. After several meetings, the group selected Central Coast Middle School as its top option because it represents the region the school serves, and it preserves the school’s current initials, CCMS, which appear on signs and uniforms.
Keeping CCMS will cost under $25,000 – less than changing to a new name with different initials, according to district officials.
The community group proposed a second name, Tagami Hashimoto Middle School, to honor local educators Jeff Tagami and Mas Hashimoto. Officials estimated it would have cost $110,000 to do branding and clothing updates and to replace the school’s signage.
During the board meeting Wednesday, trustees shared that families of both educators indicated that they didn’t support schools named after them. Trustee Gabe Medina mentioned that the family of Tagami wrote a letter to the seven-member board, and district spokesperson Alejandro Chávez said the name change group had heard from the Hashimoto family. Trustee Carol Turley added that years ago, when Pajaro Valley High School was being built, she heard Mas Hashimoto himself say he didn’t think schools should be named after people.
“Mas Hashimoto advocated for calling it Freedom High School, and he made statements that he did not think buildings should be named after people,” Turley said. “I was really surprised when I saw that there was a recommendation to name something after him. When I had, with my own ears, heard him say he did not think that was an appropriate thing.”
Trustee Daniel Dodge Jr. said he wasn’t previously aware of the families’ wishes and asked for more clarification, adding that he still supported the Tagami Hashimoto Middle School name.
The board ultimately approved the name change to Central Coast Middle School, with trustees Turley, Medina, Misty Navarro and Joy Flynn supporting it, and Dodge voting against it. Trustees Jessica Carrasco and Olivia Flores were absent.
As part of their motion, the trustees also agreed to form a committee to identify locations for murals honoring the legacy of the Asian American Pacific Islanders community in the Pajaro Valley.
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