LAS CRUCES, NM (KTSM) — The Las Cruces Public School board of trustees voted agreed to change Oñate High School’s name to Organ Mountains High School Tuesday night.
The LCPS board initially voted 3-1 to change the name back on July 14, with one abstention. The change comes after renewed controversy with the 17th Century Conquistador for his brutal treatment of indigenous people.
One of the factoring decisions to the name change was whether the district could keep the first letter of the school’s new name as an “O.” They claimed keeping the first letter would substantially reduce the cost of the name change.
According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, LCPS Board Member Carol Cooper, who voted to change Oñate HS’s name, later changed her mind. In a letter written to Board President, Terrie Dallman, she requested the Board revisit the name change.
In the end, the name change was approved 4-0. The name change will take place in the 2021 school year.
