BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield City School District moved closer to renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary School Tuesday night, as board members reviewed possible new names after receiving hundreds of community responses.
A district committee recommended several options, including Harvest Valley, Mountain View, and Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician who helped guide some of America's earliest space missions.
Community members urged the board to consider names that honor the history of the farm worker movement. One speaker suggested honoring Helen Chavez.
"Or Helen Chavez, a dynamic woman who led from behind, but was part of the backbone of our struggle for civil rights," the speaker said.
Dinah May Jimenez, president of California School Employees Association Chapter 48, also suggested keeping a connection to the farm worker community.
"To beautifully commemorate the rich history of the farm workers and migrant families who came to work the fields of Kern County that built this community," Jimenez said.
Board members said they wanted to acknowledge survivors of abuse associated with Cesar Chavez, while also preserving the history the school's name has represented for years.
"We were never looking for a new identity for the school; we were only looking for a name that was not disgraced," BCSD Board Member Dr. Chris Cruz Boone said.
By the end of the discussion, two new options emerged from board members themselves. Board Member Dr. Brooke Malley Ault proposed renaming the school Helen Chavez.
"We would change the name Cesar to Helen Chavez. I think that that very clearly falls in line with the naming criteria," Malley Ault said.
Board Member Anthony Fuentes offered another suggestion.
"I would like to lift up the name si se puede elementary school," Fuentes said.
While the board narrowed its discussion to several leading options, members said community input will remain part of the decision-making process. The board is expected to reach a final decision on the new name on June 23, with changes set to be implemented in August 2026.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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