Decision follows New York Times investigation into sexual abuse allegations against namesake
The Madison Metropolitan School District will rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School on the city’s southwest side after a New York Times investigation revived allegations that labor leader César Chávez sexually abused young women and minors while heading the United Farm Workers union.
The school, named after Chávez when it opened in 2001, had been under review since March, when the district said it was monitoring the effect of the allegations, and many predicted the school would eventually lose the name.
The move is part of a broader national wave. At least a dozen other districts in California, Texas, and elsewhere have begun or completed renaming processes for schools bearing Chávez’s name.
Residents are debating the renaming alongside the district’s history of changing other school names. Some posters supported the decision, citing respect for alleged victims, while others expressed “renaming fatigue” and questioned the cost and disruption. Others favored neutral, nature- or geography-based names such as Glacier Ridge Elementary or Maple Grove Elementary rather than names of people. Similar sentiment appeared in discussions tied to Milwaukee’s recent renaming of Cesar Chavez Drive to South 16th Street, as well as the removal of a Chavez statue.
District officials have not detailed a timeline or community process for selecting the new name.
