Two San Fernando schools are officially cutting ties with Cesar Chavez after a community-driven vote pushed Los Angeles Unified to act.
The LAUSD board on Friday signed off on new names for both campuses. The Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies campus in San Fernando will now be known as Arroyo High School, and Cesar Chavez Elementary is set to become Oakland Street Elementary.
Why did the board act
The move comes in the wake of a national reckoning sparked by detailed reporting on sexual abuse allegations against Chavez. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, that investigation included first-person accounts from survivors, among them labor leader Dolores Huerta, and prompted institutions across the country to take a hard look at honors bearing Chavez’s name.
How the new names were chosen
LAUSD did not simply slap on new signage. District officials held town halls, then asked students, staff and parents to rank potential names before each site held a final vote. According to the San Fernando Valley Sun, the high school campus ran online voting from April 23 to 30, followed by a week of in-person balloting.
Vote tallies and district price tag
When the ballots were counted, Arroyo came out on top at the high school with 557 of 1,063 votes. At the elementary campus, Oakland Street pulled in 211 of 314 votes.
The rebrand is not cheap. According to LAist, the district has earmarked $209,000 to cover the transition, including an estimated $120,000 to refinish a hardwood gym floor, $25,000 to swap out metal lettering on the school façade and $30,000 to replace crash pads and banners.
Officials and community reaction
Board members framed the decision as a direct response to survivor testimony and an attempt to keep school dedications in line with district values. Board member Kelly Gonez told the San Fernando Valley Sun that it was important "to ensure that we stand for safety and truth."
Some parents told local outlets they preferred names that highlight a school’s neighborhood or mission instead of individuals, arguing that geography and purpose are less likely to become controversial over time.
What’s next for the campuses
District staff will now get to work swapping out signs, logos and branded materials so the new names are in place by the fall semester. School leaders say they plan to keep talking with families and students as the transition unfolds, treating the name change as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-day vote.
LAist noted that the board moved quickly, with trustees voting unanimously just a week after the national reporting surfaced to launch the renaming process and set aside money for the first round of refurbishments.
Part of a wider reckoning
LAUSD’s decision is one piece of a broader national response to the March reporting, as cities, school districts and other institutions reconsider public honors tied to Chavez’s legacy. Local coverage has tracked school boards and city governments across the country wrestling with how to acknowledge farmworker history while taking survivor accounts seriously, including moves to strip Cesar Chavez from a holiday while elevating farm workers more broadly.
