Roswell school board tables proposed survey on renaming Nancy Lopez Elementary after hours of public comment

The Roswell Independent School District Board of Education voted to table indefinitely a proposal to distribute a community survey on a possible name change for Nancy Lopez Elementary School after an extended public comment period during which dozens of residents urged the board not to remove the school’s name.

Hundreds of parents, former board members, teachers and community members spoke during the public comment segment, saying the name honors Nancy Lopez, a Roswell native and internationally recognized professional golfer. Speakers described Lopez as a role model for students, cited the school’s historical ties to the neighborhood and urged the board to preserve the name. Diane Taylor, a former school board member, recounted the 1991 naming effort and said the choice reflected community support. Several speakers said the school’s student population is majority Hispanic and argued changing the name would harm community identity.

The nut of the dispute was whether the district should allow the school community and nearby neighborhoods to complete a survey about the new building’s name. Supporters of the survey, including some staff who have worked on planning the new school building, said a short community poll would gauge stakeholder awareness and preferences about three possible names: Flora Vista (the school’s original name), Nancy Lopez Elementary, or Rio Hondo Elementary. Opponents said the survey was a first step toward erasing Lopez’s legacy and asked the board not to proceed.

Board members heard repeated accounts of Lopez’s local ties and national honors. Speakers said the school was renamed for Lopez in 1991 after a community campaign and that students had written letters to Lopez asking permission to use her name. Several former board members and retirees said they had helped lead that effort. One speaker, Juan Robessa, cited demographic figures during his remarks, saying the district is about 78% Hispanic and Nancy Lopez Elementary’s enrollment is about 89% Hispanic.

Board members debated briefly before a motion to table the survey. A motion to table the item indefinitely was made, a roll-call vote was held, and the motion carried. The board did not adopt any new name or direct staff to conduct a district-run survey at the meeting. Several speakers and board members framed the vote as a pause that leaves the current school name in place.

The board’s decision came amid strong neighborhood emotion. Speakers described Nancy Lopez as “the school’s favorite daughter,” praised her athletic achievements and said changing the name could divide the city. Others who supported a survey said they sought only to give neighborhood stakeholders a voice about the new facility’s branding and to revisit whether a geographic name would better reflect the new location and a municipal golf course already named for Lopez.

Superintendent Ryan Luck and board staff listened to public comment but did not propose an immediate alternative. The board’s actions leave the existing name unchanged for now; any future effort to rename the school or reopen the question would require a separate action by the board.

Ending: The board did not vote to rename the school; it simply tabled the proposed survey. Residents who addressed the board said they would continue following the issue and expected the district to respect the community’s history and the legacy attached to the Nancy Lopez name.