By Jon Chown
WATSONVILLE — The Pajaro Valley Unified School District is moving forward with a formal process to consider renaming Cesar Chavez School.
At the April 15 PVUSD Board of Trustees meeting, district staff outlined plans to establish a School Renaming Advisory Committee that will solicit public input, review naming proposals and ultimately forward up to three recommendations to the Board of Trustees for final consideration.
Cesar Chavez
The effort is governed by board policy that states that school names should reflect “relevance, appropriateness and enduring value,” and that renaming an existing school requires “extraordinary circumstances” supported by a comprehensive review.
School names, according to district materials, are intended to reflect community identity, history and values while shaping the educational experience and long-term legacy of the Pajaro Valley district.
The school currently honors labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, whose name has been widely used across California schools and public facilities, but it is now being removed due to accusations of sexual misconduct by Chavez, including with minors.
District officials said the advisory committee will serve as a bridge between the community and district leadership, incorporating input from students, staff, parents, alumni and community members with local historical knowledge. The committee is expected to include up to 11 members, with student representatives, certificated staff, parents and guardians, and alumni or heritage representatives. Chief Business Officer Gerardo Castillo said five members of the community had already submitted their names.
Under the proposed process, the district will open a two-month public nomination period following a formal launch and media outreach campaign. Community members will be able to submit proposed names for the school supported by historical or contextual rationale. District guidelines limit naming options to three categories: individuals with significant positive contributions, figures of state, national or global significance, or geographic references tied to local neighborhoods or landmarks.
Mas Hashimoto, a former Watsonville High history teacher who experienced and lectured about the Japanese internment during World War II, has been a popular choice online. Hashimoto died in 2022. Others have said that the district should avoid naming the school after any person.
Castillo estimated that the name change would cost about $100,000. A lot of the cost, he said, is investigating the name to make sure it is appropriate, especially if it is an individual or a business.
“It sounds like it would be a lot cheaper not to use a person’s name,” said Trustee Misty Navarro.
“Yeah,” replied Castillo.
Trustee Gabriel Medina questioned the schools already named after individuals. “Like Mintie White, I don’t know who could relate to her. E.A. Hall?,” he chuckled. “So I think having a name that really represents the culture, the community locally would be a really good investigation.”
Medina suggested Rebecca Moreno, a 1991 graduate of Watsonville High and currently the head of Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency.
“I’d like to highlight those people who had the courage to really organize in our community and, dare I say it, stand up to power,” he said. In the meantime, Medina suggested removing the name immediately, before a new name had been chosen.
All of the trustees supported a name change. “It’s a no-brainer,” said Trustee Daniel Dodge.
“Maybe steering away from a name of a person is a better idea as not having to do the whole investigation and not having to, maybe in 20 years, have to go through this again,” said Trustee Olivia Flores.
After the solicitation period, the committee will evaluate submissions and rank finalists. The chair will then submit a written report to the superintendent with up to three recommended names and the supporting justification.
The superintendent will present the recommendations to the Board of Trustees at a regular meeting, where public comment will be taken before any final vote.