QuickTake:

Any name change of Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School must happen through a formal process and be approved by the school board. The New York Times published an investigation into Cesar Chavez’s sexual assault of women and young girls.

Officials at Eugene School District 4J said Wednesday, March 18, they are aware of a newspaper story about Cesar Chavez’s sexual assault of women and young girls, but renaming the elementary school that bears his name would need to go through a formal process.

A shadow now lies over Chavez’s legacy as a prominent immigrant and labor rights activist. The New York Times published an investigation Wednesday including two women’s corroborated accounts of being molested by Chavez when they were 12 and 13 years old and famed immigrant labor activist Dolores Huerta’s allegations against Chavez of rape.

Kelly McIver, 4J’s communications director said district staff leaders and board members “will carefully consider” next steps.

“Any possible renaming of schools must be approved by the school board,” McIver wrote in a statement. “And 4J’s school board policy is clear that name changes must be addressed thoughtfully and involve the community.”

The naming of 4J’s Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School in 2004 was celebrated passionately as a victory for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. At the time, nearly two dozen people spoke during a school board meeting in support of naming the school after Chavez, and more than 150 people attended, according to an account in the Register-Guard.

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Lilly is a graduate of Indiana University and has worked at the Indianapolis Star and in Burlington, Vermont, as well as working as a foreign language teacher in France. She covers education and children's issues for Lookout Eugene-Springfield.