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OKCPS board hears update on community input for Cesar Chavez Elementary renaming
Summary
OKCPS staff told the board they have collected thousands of survey responses about a potential renaming of Cesar Chavez Elementary School and plan a virtual meeting in late July and an in-person community meeting in August; an ad hoc committee will compile input under board policy DO8 and present recommendations to the board ahead of a possible October vote.
Crystal Raymond, OKCPS executive director of communications, and Haley Jones, associate general counsel, updated the Oklahoma City Public Schools board on community input about a potential renaming of Cesar Chavez Elementary School. Raymond said the district has "gotten thousands of responses," and staff are scheduling both a virtual meeting in late July and an in-person meeting in August once the principal returns on contract July 13.
Raymond said the survey was distributed via the district's TalkingPoints messaging platform as a text link to families and that the district has been tracking responses and posting notices on social media. Board members asked how the survey was delivered; Raymond said it was sent as a text through TalkingPoints and that the message is delivered in the family's chosen language. Jones said staff are also targeting additional outreach and that families and staff received the same message when applicable.
The transcript identifies an ad hoc committee "Juan Galley and Jessica" (as stated in the meeting) to consider submissions; Jones said, citing board policy DO8, that the ad hoc committee will gather and discuss input and then provide its findings to the board, which will make the final decision. The district intends to present information to the board in September and still seeks to hold a final vote in October, pending the committee's work and the scheduled public meetings.
Board members confirmed that families may bring children to the meetings and that the gatherings are intended to collect input rather than make a decision in front of children. Raymond said the district will offer both virtual and in-person options to encourage broad participation.
The next procedural step is the ad hoc committee's review of survey submissions and community meeting input under policy DO8 and a subsequent presentation to the board. The board did not take a formal vote on renaming at this meeting.
