The Ysleta School District board of trustees officially changed the name of the César Chávez Academy by adopting the new name of "The Academy."
The name of the late, now-disgraced labor leader was dropped from the Lower Valley school as part of a nationwide movement erasing his name from schools, streets and landmarks.
The board approved the name "The Academy" on a 6-1 vote on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with trustee Shane Haggerty as the only vote against.
YISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said "The Academy" can serve as a placeholder if future school boards decide to rename the school.
"I'm kind of cool with it, calling it 'The Academy,'" trustee Chris Hernandez said at the meeting, adding that the new name aligns with YISD marketing itself as "The
District."
"I understand why we are changing the name of our school, but renaming the campus to ‘The Academy’ doesn't honor anyone. (In) my opinion, it erases a community," Haggerty said at the meeting.
Haggerty, who represents the Parkland area of Northeast El Paso, suggested the campus retain the name of a prominent Mexican American individual, including possibly:
- Sylvia Mendez, the student and later activist at the center of Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark 1946 case that ended segregation at "Mexican schools" in California.
- Pat Mora, El Paso poet, author and educator who started the Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros book program.
- Lauro F. Cavazos Jr., former president of Texas Tech University and the first Latino presidential cabinet member as U.S. Secretary of Education during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
César Chávez name erased
For decades, Chávez was hailed as a Mexican American hero for his labor and civil rights work organizing farmworkers. He died in 1993 at age 66.
The name-change movement against Chávez quickly emerged following revelations in March of decades-old sexual abuse allegations involving girls and women, including accusations that he sexually assaulted Dolores Huerta, one of the founders of the United Farm Workers.
El Paso City Council and El Paso County Commissioners Court both approved changing César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Appreciation Day on March 31. The county will also rename a mural featuring Chávez at Ascarate Park.
The name of César Chávez Elementary School in Las Cruces was replaced with Desert Bloom Elementary School.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Lone dissent as Ysleta ISD renames César Chávez Academy in El Paso
