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Board accepts committee recommendation to rename Chavez Learning Station for Irene Santos
Summary
After a citizen advisory committee reviewed 20 nominations, the Kenosha School District board voted to rename Chavez Learning Station the Irene Santos Learning Station and to name the building's community room for Florence Perry Heidi; the committee cited Santos's long service to local families.
The Kenosha School District board on July 16 approved a citizen committee’s recommendation to rename Chavez Learning Station the Irene Santos Learning Station and to name the building’s community room the Florence Perry Heidi Community Room.
Administrator Reuter told the board that a 10-member citizen advisory committee reviewed about 20 name recommendations using a rubric and found two top candidates: Irene Santos and Florence Perry Heidi. The committee recommended naming the building for Santos because of her connection to Head Start and 4K families and her long record of community service.
Public commenters urged the board to adopt the change. Maria Villalobos, who previously worked in the district as a bilingual student support specialist, described Santos as “a guiding light for so many families, especially within the Hispanic community,” and said renaming the learning station would ensure Santos’s legacy endures.
Board members discussed modest additions to the action, including installing a historical plaque and considering ways to incorporate local historical imagery or school logos into signage. Mary (board member) moved the motion to approve the renaming and community-room name; the motion passed on a voice vote.
What happens next: Communications and facilities staff were expected to coordinate signage, plaques and any logo changes and to implement the naming effective as noted in the committee’s recommendation.
