San Bernardino’s San Andreas High School will keep its name after school board members decided not to name it after a late community leader.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District board discussed naming the continuation school for Margaret Hill, a late San Bernardino educator, school board member and leader in the Black community.
Hill was a San Bernardino school board member at the time of her death in 2021 at age 81.
It was not clear why the name change was proposed for San Andreas High. A district spokesperson had not responded to the question by Friday afternoon, Aug. 15.
San Andreas is one of 11 high schools in the district and one of two continuation schools. In February, it was named one of California’s Model Continuation High Schools by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
The district’s Community Naming Committee and Facilities Sub-Committee recommended the name change.
Board President Mayra Ceballos, said at the Tuesday, Aug. 5, meeting that under the board’s bylaws there would need to be a unanimous consent from trustees to make the change.
She asked if the board was comfortable moving on from the discussion and allowing the proposal to drop.
Board member Abigail Rosales-Medina, who sits on the subcommittee, said the idea initially sounded great but asked that the board not move forward.
She said Hill was a great person who did a lot of work in the community, but noted there already are several facilities in the community named for Hill.
The San Bernardino school board room is named for Hill, as is as a San Bernardino post office. In January, a proposed charter school in the city that would have been named for Hill failed to win the San Bernardino school board’s approval.
When asked by board member Felicia Alexander, Terry Comnick, associate superintendent of business, facilities and operations, said an initial estimate for the name change would be $40,000 to $60,000 to change signs, paperwork and letterheads, among other items.
“I think our mother Margaret was very frugal,” board Vice President Mary Ellen Abilez Grande said.
Grande also said her youngest daughter graduated from San Andreas.
“I wouldn’t like to see it changed, I am proud of it,” Grande said.
Board member Danny Tilman said that if someone changed the name of San Bernardino High School — his alma mater — he would take it personally.
“If I feel that way about San Bernardino High School, how could I not feel that way about someone else’s alma mater?” Tillman asked.
He called Hill a great woman, but said too many people are attached to the name of their high school.
During the meeting, Roberta Figueroa, a San Andreas program specialist, read a letter from the school’s staff.
“We have built name recognition,” she said, reading from the letter. “… We have built a powerful identity and alumni legacy around that name.”
The letter said that renaming the campus would present practical challenges beyond adjusting signs. San Andreas would have to refile paperwork for grant funding, which would take time and could affect the resources available for students.
“This branding isn’t just clever, it creates a sense of belonging, pride, and consistency for students who may have struggled to find this elsewhere,” Figueroa said, reading from the letter.
San Andreas staff suggested in the letter that the school’s new wellness center could instead be named for Hill, a move that would still honor her memory and legacy.
This article has been updated to clarify that Assistant Superintendent of Business, Facilities, and Operations, Terry Comnick said the estimated initial cost would be in the $40,000-$60,000 range.
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