SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego Unified School District leaders unanimously agreed to start the renaming process for Cesar Chavez Elementary in Southcrest. The decision comes after several women came forward accusing the late labor rights leader of sexual abuse.
The fallout has been tracked across San Diego, as multiple schools, including Cal State San Marcos and Southwestern College, removed dedications to Chavez. It is a move seen nationwide, as many cities look to dismantle the honors placed on him.
Cesar Chavez Elementary first opened in 1997 to honor the activist, who died a few years before. The words respect, trustworthiness, and caring are prominently displayed at the entrance to the school. It appears the man who embodied those traits may have quietly had a different story that is only now emerging.
The district has a policy in place that allows for one school or mascot name change a year. The district already used that allowance this year at Clairemont High, changing the mascot from the Chieftains to the Captains.
At Tuesday's meeting, the board unanimously waived that policy to make an exception for Cesar Chavez Elementary.
"Our students rely upon us to give them some direction. When we had the incident that occurred with the Cesar Chavez name, we decided that we needed to take a look at it," Sharon Whitehurst-Payne said.
Whitehurst-Payne, a San Diego Unified School District trustee, was at the school when the allegations came out.
"The school was cheerful. We did our usual march around the community with the low riders and all of that. I just think we need to take this offline for the students and allow the parents and any input that anyone wants to give, they can address that. But for us, my focus is always on the kids," Whitehurst-Payne said.
Now that the renaming process can begin, it is up to the school to meet with parents, students, teachers, and the community to come up with a new name together.
"Usually it takes a while to get the community meetings. In this case it might not take that long. But once we’ve gotten a recommendation from the school, from the community around this school, then it can move forward," Whitehurst-Payne said.
Whitehurst-Payne said the process can be as short or as long as the school wants. There was another name change at a different elementary school last year that she says took about two years to happen, but this renaming seems to be treated with more urgency.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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.
