The Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees took no action on the possible renaming of Cesar Chavez High School, leaving the school’s name unchanged. However, the board of trustees said the item would be brought back at a later time for further discussion.
Throughout the city, county and country, labor activist Cesar Chavez’s name has either been removed or covered up following allegations of sexual abuse against him. A New York Times investigation published earlier this year reported that two women alleged Chavez sexually abused them when they were minors and raped labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.
Cesar Chavez High School, named after labor leader and political activist Cesar Chavez, opened in Stockton as a public
school in 2005. The high school is located at 2929 Windflower Lane and serves ninth through 12th grades.
From Aug. 13-21, the board of trustees conducted a survey to gather feedback from students, families, staff, alumni and community members on the potential renaming of the high school. In total, the survey received 1,831 responses, with 56.3% from students, 12.5% from staff members, 14.3% from parents or family members and 6.2% from alumni.
According to the survey results, 47% of the community strongly supported the renaming, while 35.4% opposed. When asked the for the importance of minimizing the cost, 51.2% community members said it was extremely important while 19.5% said it was not important.
SUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said the survey asked for people to share any comments suggestion that they would like the governing board to consider. Those responses were put into categories which included financial stewardship verses moral obligation, historical legacy and due process, minimizing impact and preservation of identity, calls for alternative representation, and process and transparency.
Rodriguez said when it came to stewardship verses moral obligation survey respondents said a primary concern was the significant cost associated with the name change. She said respondents argued that the funds should be prioritized for urgent student needs such as facility repairs like roofs and HVAC's, academic intervention programs, teachers salaries and extracurricular activities rather than symbolic rebranding.
In contrast, others said that the high school could not continue to honor a person accused of sexual misconduct and violence against women. Rodriguez said these respondents argued that financial costs should not outweigh the moral necessity of denouncing such behavior.
Respondents who addressed the historical legacy and due process emphasized the positive contributions by Chavez to the farmworker and civil rights movements. Rodriguez said some cautioned against erasing history or canceling figures based on decades-old, unproven allegations. In contrast, those opposed said that the severity of the accusations, even if not legally proven, are incompatible with the values a public school should represent to students.
Those who were open to a name change or were concerned about the budget strongly recommended keeping the "CCHS" initials with names such as Central California High School or Central City High School, results showed.
Feedback results showed that there was criticism directed at the way the survey was framed. Some perceived it as an attempt to force a choice between a name change and an essential student funding rather than a neutral inquiry. People also showed a desire for more community desire.
The board said Policy 7310 establishes that the governing board has the authority to name or rename district schools and encourages meaningful community participation throughout the process. Additionally, the policy states that a citizen advisory committee shall be appointed to review name suggestions and submit recommendations to the board. Prior to adopting any proposed name, the board must also hold a public hearing to receive community input.
Trustees weigh in on name change
The first speaker to comment, Area 2 Trustee Patrick Martin, said his heart went out to the alleged victims of Chavez. However, he said the allegations remain allegations and Chavez has not been afforded due process.
“I feel the money can be spent in certain areas for students, and we have to kind of be fair when we are talking about this because we have seven schools who are named after presidents who owned slaves,” Martin said. “If we are going to change a name off of allegations of one individual, then I think it’s fair that we look at the rest of the schools to be fair.”
Martin said that until people can get the facts about the allegations against Chavez and the case is resolved, he did not feel the board should jump on the bandwagon of changing names or removing Chavez’s name.
Area 7 Trustee Kennetha Stevens said she agreed with Martin on not moving forward yet.
“I do think we should hear if he (Chavez) is convicted of the alleged crimes before we do decide to move forward, but really wanted to hear what our community had to say and how we support moving forward if there is going to be a name change,” Stevens said.
Area 5 Trustee Donald Donaire said he wanted to acknowledge how difficult these conversations are and that it is really difficult to address sexual and gender based violence.
“I am on the side of survivors of sexual and gender based violence and I also think that this conversation needs to be very very nuanced,” Donaire said.
He said it really mattered if the district spends the money for the name change.
The cost to rename the school is estimated at $2 million if the new name retains the initials “CCHS” and $3 million if the new name uses different initials, according to the board.
When survey respondents were asked how important minimizing the cost of renaming the school should be in the board’s decision, 38.3% of respondents, the largest portion, said it was extremely important.
“I also realize that this could be a really big national conversation," Donaire said. "If we continue with the potential renaming this could be the most expensive renaming in the U.S. as far I know. So, that is something that if we continue this we have to either stand on that or be prepared for what’s to come after that."
The board wrapped up the conversation by saying that as of now the potential remaining of the high school is just a discussion item, not an item to take any action on. However, the matter will be brought back to the board at a later time, according to the board.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Cesar Chavez High School name stays for now, more discussions to follow
