Hollister - Plans to change the name of Calaveras Elementary School were halted Tuesday when the Hollister School District Superintendent suggested the Board of Trustees delay making a decision until sites for the district's two proposed magnet schools were established.
Superintendent Ron Crates said changing the name of the school would cost between $15,000 and $20,000 and recommended the board postpone a decision on the issue until sites for the district's two proposed magnet schools have been selected. If Calaveras was chosen as a site for one of the magnet schools, Crates suggested the board look into changing its name then. A decision on magnet school sites could be a year away, he said.
The board had requested a report on the origins of the school's name and the cost of changing it after a teacher at the school raised concerns about the impact of the name on students at the school. Calaveras Elementary School teacher Jose Anaya told the board in October that while the name of his school did derive from the name of a nearby geologic fault, it also means "skulls" in Spanish.
About 85 percent of the school's students are Hispanic or Latino, according to 2004-2005 enrollment statistics released by the California Department of Education.
Although no action was taken regarding the issue on Tuesday, the board has no plans to change the name of Calaveras School at this time, Board member Dee Brown said Wednesday. She agreed with Crates that postponing a decision would be prudent.
"I think it makes sense to wait," she said. "But I understand (Anaya's) concerns."
Cost, she said, would probably not be a factor, even though the district is facing $6 million in cuts over the next three years.
"I don't think ($15,000 to $20,000) is a significant amount - I don't think the money would stop us from changing the name," Brown said. "I'm willing to do it if the community thinks it's important."
Any decision to change the school's name would require input from a committee of Hollister residents and could take as long as six months, Brown said.
The name Calaveras has a storied history in California. The locale of Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was the setting for the tale that launched his long literary career.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or browland@freelancenews.com
Brett Rowland Brett Rowland is city editor for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 332 or browland@freelancenews.com
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