Las Cruces school board votes to rename Oñate High School
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - The Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education voted Tuesday evening to rename Oñate High School.
Three board members voted yes, while one voted no and another abstained during a special meeting on Tuesday evening.
"History is not changing, but the way we perceive history is changing," said Ray Jaramillo, the only board member to vote no on the name change.
The board tabled the discussion on selecting a replacement name until their next meeting.
According to a district survey (on page 45 of this link), the majority of the community did not want a name change. The survey was made up of students, parents, graduates, faculty and community members.
In the survey, 75.3 percent of recipients said they did not want a name change and 24.6 percent of respondents said they did want a name change.
According to a board document, the top choices for the new name of the school are "Organ" High School and "Organ Mountain" High School.
"Top" names suggested on the survey included Bataan High School, Obama High School and Ocotillo High School.
Founded in 1988, Oñate High School was named after Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate. Statues of the controversial figure have come down across New Mexico as the country debates the glorification of historical figures.
"I'm not here to try to defend Juan de Oñate," an Oñate parent told ABC-7 last month. "I'm here to try to point out the fact that today, in 2020, the legacy of Oñate High School is not Oñate the conqueror."
"It gives us an opportunity to have a healthy debate," said a spokeswoman for the district last month. "What's in a name? What does that represent for our students, for our district and our community?"
