SALINAS, Calif.- A man known as a California bandit is still making national headlines after a local
school has been named after him. Right
now, there's a new effort by some of our local law enforcement officers to get
rid of the name Tiburcio Vasquez.
The Alisal Union School Board voted
unanimously on the school's name in early December. The new school is under construction on the
corner of Tuscany and Freedom Parkway. Since the news
broke, many people, including the new Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter spoke out
against the name choice. Tiburcio Vasquez
is known to some as California's first bandit, a thief and murderer while others see him
as a Chicano hero.
The school district superintendent
has a message for law enforcement, still fighting to change the name-let's focus
on solving crime in the city.
Right now there's
a temporary sign, letting you know there's a new school coming at the
intersection. But now the Monterey
County deputy Sheriff's Association has said it's planning to put
a measure on an upcoming ballot to make sure the name Tiburcio Vasquez Elementary
doesn't land permanently on a sign.
There's
two major issues though: How and when
the association will be able to make a ballot measure happen? There isn't a scheduled election before the
school is set to open in August.
Alisal Union School District Superintendent John Ramirez Junior said he's had enough of
the debate over the name.
"Our board president has been quoted, the decision's made. So yes, to us
its lets move forward because there's a lot of business that needs to get done
with respect to student achievement in our district," Ramirez said.
But Monterey County Deputy Sheriff's Association president
Daniel Mitchell said the school district is ignoring a lot of people who don't
support the decision.
"They're public servants, they should be accountable
to the public, the people who live in that area and if they don't feel they're
accountable, then we need to hold them accountable as citizens," Mitchell said.
The
popular choice among all the name options on a kionrightnow.com poll was Hillsdale
School. But Superintendent Ramirez said that's not
true because a group of people vetted the name, from parents to board members.
"There are a lot of disagreements going around the
city, a lot of people pointing fingers and I think what would be more
productive, is that the individuals with opinions, if they sat down, gave me a
call and let's see how we're going to improve things in East Salinas, because for
decades that hasn't happened," Ramirez said.
Mitchell said as a deputy, he thinks naming a school after a
murderer sends the wrong signal to young kids with a chance to avoid a life of
crime.
"There are so many other great role models that they
could name the school after. Martin
Luther King questioned authority. But he
didn't have to go shoot people for it," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the association is investigating the
district's authority to name schools and who has veto power over the
decision. Last month we found out the state board of education said
naming a school is always a local district decision. Superintendent Ramirez said the board doesn't
plan to formally discuss the name, Tiburcio Vasquez Elementary, at any school
board meeting in the future.
