Why My Opinion on Renaming SFUSD Schools Changed | Opinion

By Luke M.

On January 27, 2021, the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education decided to rename more than 40 schools around the SFUSD including Balboa High School in Resolution No. 211-12A1. On February 21, 2021, Gabriela López, the SFUSD Board President, announced in a San Francisco Chronicle article that the renaming process would be on hold. In the article, López expands, “We recognize we need to slow down” and “We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening.”

In early February, I had a firm belief that this school renaming was a very stupid and irresponsible idea. The original title of this article was “Why the SFUSD School Renaming is a Highly Irresponsible Decision.” Due to research and thinking about this topic, I have now changed my mind to believe that some schools including Balboa should be renamed (Disclaimer: I do not support the renaming of all 44 schools that were proposed to be renamed). One of the primary ideas that got me to rethink my opinion was SFUSD’s February Resolution’s qualifications for renaming which included that the renaming should take place for, “historical figures who — significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I am still conflicted as to when this renaming should happen.

Why the renaming should wait until the effects of the pandemic have settled: 

Many may argue that the cost of renaming is too high. It seems as though there are some varying estimates about the price of renaming. According to a New York Times article from January 27, School Board President, Gabriela López, had made a statement, “the board had considered that and had estimated that it would cost $10,000 per school.” Whereas, a steeper estimate from the Balboa Alumni Association’s website claims, “It is estimated that the renaming cost of each school will run from $150,000 to $200,000.” The Balboa Alumni Association included signage, murals, marquees, gym floors, signage on bleachers, outdoor field, and athletic/cheer/JROTC uniforms in this estimate; however, as a historic building, Balboa High School would not be required to replace many of these things. Also, although SFUSD has seen a roughly 1.4 million dollars loss in revenue from the city as well as the CARES act, the school district also saw a decrease in expenditures by 2 million dollars due to operating costs. This cancels out the cost of the loss in revenue. To ensure that the costs do not outweigh the benefits, renaming should only happen with school names who have done significant harm, not minor harm towards life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because all people have done some sort of harm to these values.

When I contacted both Balboa High School students, every single student said that their main concern about the renaming of SFUSD schools was something like “this isn’t the priority to have SFUSD change names” or “[the renaming] would just be a waste of resources.” This popular opinion that I held as well was driven by the perception that SFUSD could spend the money to solve more important and pressing problems. Some of these problems that they could address are lack of stable internet connectivity, lack of mental health resources, lack of support for Elementary and Special Education Students and Parents. Also, SFUSD should plan for reopening and the expenditures that will come along with reopening. These include preparing classrooms for spaced-out learning, buying PPE for students and teachers, and providing mental health services for the mental health problems that were established because of the year in social isolation. In order for renaming to occur, SFUSD will have to allocate a lot of staff and money towards the reopening process. Already, many staff members are stressed out and have high workloads.

Why the renaming should happen now:

The School Board made it clear that the purpose of renaming is to uphold the values of our Declaration of Independence. Balboa High School was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa was a Spanish man, credited with claiming the Pacific Coast of Central/South America for the Spanish Empire. The primary criticism for this name being that Balboa and his fellow colonists killed and tortured indigenous people in order to get gold, slaves, and other valuables. Balboa’s student population is 29.8% Latino, many of whose ancestors suffered the harsh reality of Spanish Colonialism which Balboa contributed to. I am not saying we should forget about these people, but rather these people should be taught about rather than idolized. It is obvious that the School Board has a legitimate claim as to why the renaming should happen. No public entity should ever congratulate or celebrate when someone takes someone’s rights away or violates their rights. This being especially true if the people who the government entity serves consist of many Victims of Spanish Colonialism. Being complacent towards colonialism and racism is almost the same thing as siding with the perpetrators. Public Institutions should always be held to a higher standard.

One major concern of the renaming is the strong sense of community linked to school names such as Balboa High School. I contacted some members of the Balboa Alumni and it seemed as though they expressed similar feelings about this. I asked them how a renaming of Balboa High School would impact the Balboa community. Emily Powell Palmer, a member of the Balboa class of 1946 and a President Emerita of the Balboa Alumni association, in an email told me, “Balboa High School opened in August of 1928, and that name, and the education, activities, and traditions students received within its beautiful structure –which is San Francisco Historical Landmark No. 205– have ‘served’ perhaps 50,000 + – students, with 9,000 Alumni members at the present time.  I and others believe that with a name change, many alums, and neighborhood organizations, will be disheartened and will cease making scholarship and other contributions.” As Emily Powell Palmer explained, renaming would likely impact the Balboa Alumni tremendously and change their feelings towards what is currently Balboa High School. However, one point came to be interesting to me: many Balboa students associate more with “Bal” than Balboa. If we would keep this Bal, many Alumni members will continue to feel their connection to “Bal” while we disconnect from the person, Vasco Núñez de Balboa. One proposed name for Balboa is Carlos Bulosan Academic and Leadership Academy. This would have two positive impacts: It would both keep BAL as an acronym and would disconnect our school from Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Please check out balboalumni.org to check out more about the Balboa Alumni Association and its position regarding renaming of Balboa High School.

Here is a quote from Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail written on April 16, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. 

“For years now I have heard the word “wait.” It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This “wait” has almost always meant “never.”

Right now is not the time to wait as we have been waiting for far too long in the struggle to see the true “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” that has been “American Values” since the inception of the United States. There will always be an excuse to delay equality and freedom. In order to keep our public institutions run by and for the people, we must ensure that these public institutions do not glorify systems that have oppressed the people that they serve. If someone killed your people, enslaved your people, or tortured your people, would you want a public institution to be named after them?

Note: Web pages with an “archive.org” link are snapshots of web pages from the time of writing this article.