Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

1 day ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Strong Divisions Remain After Central Trustees Make Choice for School's New Name
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 3 years ago on
July 27, 2022

Share

 

Central Unified trustees outraged advocates on both sides of a school renaming battle when they voted 4-2 Tuesday night to choose a neutral name for the school formerly known as James K. Polk Elementary.

And some of those trustees could wind up being the targets of recall efforts, several speakers warned.

The school will now be known as Central Elementary, a name that was first proposed by board President Richard Solis at last month’s meeting when the board voted to strip Polk’s name from the school. Solis had offered the name Central Elementary in a nod to the district’s upcoming centennial. His motion, however, died for lack of a second.

The moniker Central Elementary had limited public support on a community survey taken by the district after the board’s vote last month to remove Polk’s name, garnering only six nominations.

The top two nominated names were Polk and Maria Moreno, the first woman farmworker hired to be a labor organizer. Moreno’s name was first proposed by incoming sixth-grader Malachi Suarez, whose fourth-grade GATE project on President James K. Polk’s history as a racist slaveholder sparked the move to rename the school.

Role Model for Students

A number of Moreno’s descendants were among the many callers and speakers at Tuesday’s meeting, urging the board to honor Moreno as a role model for the many Mexican-American and other students of color who attend Central Unified schools.

Moreno, a native of Texas, worked for labor organizations in Fresno and the Valley that preceded the better-known United Farm Workers headed by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

While the speakers who appeared in-person at the board meeting were a mix of supporters for keeping Polk’s name and changing it to Maria Moreno, dozens of phone callers uniformly advocated for Moreno to be the school’s namesake.

And the passion that surfaced at town hall meetings and recent School Board meetings erupted on both sides of the issue. Gina Sellers, who had been accused of tearing down Malachi’s poster on Polk and then served on the school renaming subcommittee alongside Malachi’s father Gabriel, angrily accused the trustees of defying the constituents who elected them.

“Since you guys will not fight for my community members, since you will not fight for Central, I will. And you do not want me coming at you,” Sellers warned.

Gabriel Suarez made an impassioned speech in favor of choosing Maria Moreno as the school’s namesake, which came after he had accused some board members of being unfit to hold office and, potentially, candidates for recall.

“This is a chance for you to do what’s right and end the unacceptable tradition of celebrating racists. Start caring about all of your students,” he said. “Remember that you work for the students, and it’s time to show them that representation matters. Celebrating Polk doesn’t create a positive school environment. It’s demoralizing, discouraging, unjustifiable, and disgusting. That’s why you should name the school after Mario Moreno, a true American hero we could all celebrate. And if it’s difficult to stop celebrating white supremacists, then you’re not fit for this job.”

Trustees Jeremy Mehling and Jason Paul made a second attempt at keeping Polk’s name on the school, even though their effort at the June 28 board meeting died by a 2-5 vote. This time it failed by a 2-4 vote, with Mehling and Paul voting in favor, and Solis, Trustees Philip Cervantes, Yesenia Carrillo, and Shawn Brooks voting against. Trustee Naindeep Singh Chann was absent due to illness.

Brooks then proposed and Carrillo seconded naming the school Central Elementary, which passed by a 4-2 vote with Paul and Mehling opposing. The vote prompted a loud protest by Malachi’s family and friends, who shouted “representation matters” as the trustees left the dais for a short recess.

Past Recall Efforts Unsuccessful

Central Unified has a long history of recall attempts targeting trustees. In March 1988 recall notices were served on all seven trustees by a citizens’ group alleging district officials illegally used developer-fee money and under-funded Teague Elementary School. The effort failed to qualify for the ballot.

In June 1999 four trustees were served with recall notices by community members unhappy over their loyalty to then-Superintendent George Keledjian. Proponents later abandoned the effort.

In 2018 efforts were initiated to recall Solis, Cervantes and Trustee Terry Cox over the board’s vote to terminate the contract of then-Superintendent Mark Sutton, even though Cervantes and Cox had voted against ending the contract. The recall efforts failed to qualify for the ballot. Solis and Cervantes were re-elected in 2020; Cox opted not to seek re-election that year.

RELATED TOPICS:

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

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

UP NEXT

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

UP NEXT

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

UP NEXT

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

UP NEXT

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

UP NEXT

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

UP NEXT

What Does the Fresno County Schools Superintendent Do? Read This Q&A to Find Out

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

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

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

1 day ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

1 day ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

1 day ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

1 day ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

11 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
11 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
11 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 day ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

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

Search

Send this to a friend