Kit Carson Elementary name nixed

‘Conflicted legacy’ is cited; board votes 5-1

The Clark County School Board voted Thursday night to rename

Kit Carson Elementary School, expressing concerns with its namesake’s controversial legacy.

The board decided 5-1 to rescind the name of the central Las Vegas school — built in 1956 — and to look at the associated costs for doing so as a partnership between the school district and community. Trustee

Chris Garvey opposed the motion and Trustee Deanna Wright wasn’t in attendance for the vote during the virtual meeting.

Carson — a frontiersman, guide and soldier — “played a pivotal role in the settlement of the West during the 19th century,” according to school board meeting materials. He’s also the namesake of a river in Northern Nevada and the state’s capital city.

“However, Kit Carson has a conflicted legacy,” according to the meeting materials. “Mr. Carson was responsible for the cruel treatment and deaths of hundreds of Navajo Indians, most notably in the 1864 deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing of the Navajo people in what is known as the ‘Long Walk of the Navajo.’”

Trustee Linda Young requested the agenda item.

“We’re living in a different time now where not only do we need to review policies, we need to review practices, we need to review programs,” she said. “And this is a good opportunity to talk about this whole situation with Kit Carson.”

Across the nation, four or five school districts also have considered requests to rescind Carson’s name on an educational building, Young said.

It costs CCSD an estimated $29,000 to $40,500 to change a school’s name, including new signage and a website

refresh. The school normally covers the cost. But because Kit Carson Elementary officials aren’t requesting a name change, there will be an alternate funding source.

Wright, who’s on CCSD’S school name committee, said changing the name of Kit Carson Elementary has been a topic of discussion since 2018.

There’s a new namesake already chosen — Helen Anderson Toland — and there’s no need for this item to go back to the board of trustees, Wright said.

Toland, CCSD’S first black female principal, was principal at Kit Carson Elementary for seven years.

Garvey said that Toland is a phenomenal person who is welldeserving of a school being named after her and that she’s an inspiration for the school district.

Trustee Danielle Ford said the board is in a powerful position to drive changes and were elected so they can make decisions without having to conduct a survey every time.

The expense in changing the school’s name should be looked at as a potential investment in school culture, she said.

Ford said she has Navajo blood — but “not enough to qualify for anything” — and that her grandmother who died 14 years ago would be very supportive of changing the name of Kit Carson Elementary. “This is personal to me.”