List down to four possibles, final decision will be made after
holidays
By Samantha Frank
Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – What do a fallen U.S. soldier, a man who helped 1,500 Japanese immigrants and the “cattle king” have in common? They’re all from Gilroy, but they are also some of the names nominated by the public for the new Las Animas School, but not chosen. The original list of 44 names was narrowed down to four by the naming committee back in October.
Now the search for a name is set to move one step closer to the final decision after the holidays, according to Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
“The past (school board) meetings have been packed,” Diaz said. “We’re just waiting to get on the board agenda.”
Diaz said that the naming committee will be presenting the four recommendations to the school board either the first or third Thursday in January. From there the board members will consider which one of the four names to choose and they will have complete say over the final decision.
Although Diaz said he wasn’t sure about the exact dates in January, Pat Midtgaard, president of the school board, said that the recommendations will be presented Jan. 4 and voting will take place Jan. 18.
The four names chosen for the new elementary school are Pleasant Valley, Las Animas, TJ Owens and Dale Connell. The committee made public its four name recommendations Oct. 31.
“Things are just exactly where they were before,” said Rob Mendiola, the GUSD facilities director and a member of the naming committee. “There’s no hard timeline on this matter.”
Before the January board meeting, the committee must develop a written report, which will explain the rationale behind choosing the four names. Once the report is finished, it will be forwarded to Diaz to review and add any comments he might have. Diaz said that he has nothing to do with the choosing of the name, and that he will just be present at the board meeting.
But choosing a name might not be the end in this long process. Questions still remain about whether or not the committee violated the state’s Ralph M. Brown Act in their naming process by not operating in public view. The Brown Act requires that legislative bodies allow the public to attend and participate in meetings, except under limited circumstances.
“Our next step is to figure out whether or not we followed all of the rules,” said Bryan Walker, the committee chair and a 17-year-old Gilroy High School student. “If we didn’t, we need to take the necessary steps to correct the mistake.” Walker did not say what these steps would entail.
Mendiola said he is not worried about the issue.
“We believe we were on solid ground,” he said.
