Quick Take
Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials say it will cost more than $100,000 to rename Cesar E. Chavez Middle School as they move forward with the process following recent sex abuse allegations against the late civil rights leader. Trustees voiced support for the change but raised concerns about the expense, the risks of naming schools after individuals and the possibility of spending funds on a campus that could later face closure.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District is moving forward with the process to rename Cesar E. Chavez Middle School following sex abuse allegations revealed last month against the late civil rights and farmworker advocate.
During its Wednesday evening meeting, the governing board briefly discussed whether or not to rename the Watsonville school after a person.
Chief Business Officer Gerardo Castillo estimated that the renaming would cost more than $100,000 and described a lengthy process, including the formation of a committee to recommend new names.
Trustee Misty Navarro asked why it costs so much to rename a school. Castillo said the most expensive part is paying a company to conduct an investigation into the individual for whom the school might be named. There also are costs to replace signs and any infrastructure that display the old name.
“Sounds like it would be cheaper to not use a person’s name,” said Navarro, adding that she supports renaming.
The trustees supported the renaming process but similarly expressed concerns about the costs and whether to rename the school after a person. Following the revelations last month first published in The New York Times, a wave of organizations nationally and locally announced removing and renaming awards and holidays. About 40 public schools and centers are named after Chávez across the state, according to the California Department of Education.
Trustee Olivia Flores said she hopes the renaming committee is made up of a mix of people who live close to the school and people from the wider Watsonville community. She preferred to not rename the school after a person.
“I just agree that maybe steering away from a person is a better idea,” she said. “As far as not having to do the whole investigation and not having to, maybe in 20 years, go through this again.”
Trustee Daniel Dodge Jr. asked what would happen if the school is renamed, and then the district, through its committee tasked with looking at school closures, decides to close the middle school.
“My concern is going through school reorganizations and possibly having to close schools, what happens?” Dodge asked. “We’re going to spend $100,000 [to rename it] and then, oh, we sell [the school]?”
Castillo said renaming the school will take a minimum of two months. He said the district can simultaneously work through the renaming process as well as the school consolidation process.
“I think we could just go to the process based on the policy, and then think about it,” Castillo said.
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