Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Central Unified Names New High School After Justin Garza on Split Vote
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
May 27, 2020

Share

Central Unified School District’s new high school will be named after Justin Garza, the former head football coach at Central High School who lost his battle with cancer in 2017.

Four board members — board president Yesenia Carrillo and trustees Naindeep Singh Chann, Philip Cervantes, and Richard Solis — voted to name the school now under construction at Grantland and Ashlan avenues in northwest Fresno for Garza.

Board vice president Jason Paul and trustees Richard Atkins and Terry Cox voted to name the school Central North, a name that was preferred by an overwhelming majority of respondents to a district survey.

portrait of the late Justin Garza, who coached football at Central High in Fresno, California

— Justin Garza

Nearly 200 names were proposed, including former President Barack Obama, Fresno Mayor Lee Brand, and social media celebrity Lovely Peaches.

Cervantes said that although Central North elicited more support in the survey, much community support was expressed for naming the high school for Garza.

Support for Directional Name

Atkins said he was concerned about naming a facility for a specific person — even a “very fine gentleman” such as Garza — instead of choosing a more neutral name.

“You’re going to step on somebody’s toes, you’re going to pinch somebody’s butt, and it ain’t gonna look pretty in the end,” he said.

Cox said she had received several comments from residents who were not in favor of naming the school for Garza, who first taught at Central High in 1999 and was an assistant coach for football, track, and golf until 2004, when he left for another job. He later returned and was the head coach at Central until his illness forced him to resign in 2014.

Choosing a “directional” name such as Central North gives its students more latitude in crafting the school’s identity, she said.

“Central Unified has an amazing opportunity to embrace the power in a name. To name a school after a geographical location like Clovis Unified has done further divides neighborhoods. But to select a name that stands for more, a name that embraces community and diversity, that inspires passion and grit, would take a stance to set the tone for incoming students.” — Tosha Giuffrida

Carillo suggested amending the motion to name the school for Garza pending the completion of a background check.

Friends Say Garza is Worthy Namesake

Prior to the vote, Garza’s widow Regina thanked trustees for considering naming the new school for her husband.

Tosha Giuffrida, who said she was speaking on behalf of Garza’s friends, said his passion for education and student success was widely acknowledged, and his impact on the lives of his students and the community was profound.

“Central Unified has an amazing opportunity to embrace the power in a name. To name a school after a geographical location like Clovis Unified has done further divides neighborhoods,” she said. “But to select a name that stands for more, a name that embraces community and diversity, that inspires passion and grit, would take a stance to set the tone for incoming students.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

UP NEXT

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

UP NEXT

Thousands of Pilgrims Trek Through New Mexico Desert to Historic Adobe Church for Good Friday

UP NEXT

Rams’ Draft Headquarters to Be at LAFD Air Base to Honor First Responders to Wildfires

UP NEXT

Free Skateboard Event Brings Pro Legends, Family Fun to Fresno on Saturday

UP NEXT

Easter Desserts Anyone Can Make

UP NEXT

Giants Befuddled by Sánchez’s Changeup in Loss to the Phillies

UP NEXT

Why Fresno Unified Tried to Keep Superintendent Search Secret

UP NEXT

2 Killed and 5 Hurt in Florida State University Shooting; Gunman in Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustees Passed Over a National Superintendent of the Year

UP NEXT

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump Plan to End Birthright Citizenship

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

10 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

11 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

11 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

12 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

12 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

12 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

12 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

12 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

13 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

13 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

Pacific Gas & Electric customers are already paying some of the nation’s highest rates for electricity, and their bills could be g...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

9 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
10 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

10 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
11 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
11 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

12 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

12 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend