At its regular meeting Tuesday night, the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to remove the name ‘Cesar Chavez’ from the elementary school named for him at 5250 North Holman Road. Last month, The New York Times reported on sexual misconduct allegations against Chavez, triggering national reflection on the legacy of the civil rights icon and prompting communities across the country to reconsider how his name and contributions are publicly honored.
Tuesday’s vote by the LCPS Board of Education follows weeks of public comment collected through the district’s public input portal and a special session hosted at the school by the board on April 8. At Tuesday’s meeting, LCPS Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz noted that 55 public comments were collected, the majority of which were in favor of a name change. Additional public comment was also made at the meeting ahead of the vote.
According to LCPS policy FFA, “When opening new schools or renaming existing school facilities, the Board of Education shall have an open process to select appropriate names.” The policy goes on to acknowledge the board “will make every effort to respect community preferences but may select any name that the majority of the board desires.”
A timeline of the process was presented to the board following the vote, indicating that feedback from the school community will begin today. Each classroom at the school will select one name based on all feedback, and then school staff will select the top five names. On May 19, those recommendations will be presented to the board during their regularly scheduled meeting.
The official rebranding will begin May 20 and the new name will be adopted July 1, 2026.
Comments