BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Community members urged the board to consider names that honor the history of the farm worker movement. One speaker suggested honoring Helen Chavez.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Dinah May Jimenez, president of California School Employees Association Chapter 48, also suggested keeping a connection to the farm worker community.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Board Member Anthony Fuentes offered another suggestion.<\/p>\n
“I would like to lift up the name si se puede elementary school,” Fuentes said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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