Panel cites 44 S. F. schools as potential candidates to have names changed

An effort to rename dozens of schools in San Francisco inched forward Tuesday with an update to the school board on the process, which could lead to a vote early next year.

Members of an appointed task force told school board members that they have identified 44 school sites that they believe should be renamed based on current associations with former slave owners, colonizers, those connected to genocide or oppression.

More than a third of the district’s 125 schools made the list of objectionable names, which also included Balboa, Lowell and Mission high schools, as well as Roosevelt and Presidio middle schools and Webster, Sanchez and Jose Ortega elementary schools.

The move comes amid a national reckoning on racism, with many parents Tuesday supporting the effort, saying it’s time to acknowledge that a name reflects values.

“The names of schools in this city should reflect people to be admired,” said Mary Travis Allen, one of the committee members. “The schools should be named after a person who inspires living the core values of the San Francisco Unified School District, as well as the human values of our society.”

Yet not everyone supports renaming all 44 sites, with some questioning the validity of the research conducted by the committee or the cost of changing the names when the district is facing a budget shortfall, district staff said, referencing community feedback.

Officials from five high school alumni associations criticized the process, saying the committee did not consult professional historians or diverse ethnic communities.

The panel of 12 task force members was formed in January and has met several times to vote on each school name.

The schools on the panel’s list include Dianne Feinstein Elementary, named after one of California’s two U. S. senators.

The school made the list because, as mayor in 1986, Feinstein reportedly replaced a vandalized Confederate flag, one of several historic flags flying in front of City Hall at the time.

Abraham Lincoln High is also on the list, based on the former president’s treatment of American Indian and native people.

James Denman Middle School also made the list, named after the first superintendent of the district.

Parent Alida Fisher said she was grateful for the process, with many Denman families long focused on changing the name.

Denman might have been the first superintendent, but he was also

“an abject racist,” Fisher said.

“We love the school” but not the legacy of racism that’s in the name, Fisher said.

The committee expects to formally recommend changing the names of the 44 school sites in January, with an alternative name for each school.

Principals at the schools subject to renaming were asked to coordinate a community effort to come up with that alternative name.

“I’m excited to see the names schools will come up with,” said board member Gabriela López.