A building on the newest Fresno Unified School District campus will not be named after H. Roger Tatarian, at the request of his family, who said the icon of Fresno’s Armenia community should have his name on a school and “not a mere building.”
In a 6-1 vote Wednesday night, FUSD trustees agreed to honor the wishes of Tatarian’s family and dropped a proposal that would have put his name on the student services and programs building on the yet-to-be-built campus. Trustee Terry Slatic cast the “no” vote.
In a letter to the school board, Tatarian’s grandson, James, said his grandfather deserved to have a school named after him and “not a mere building.”
“We would consider that a (consolation) prize that is not suitable for a man of his accomplishments and stature,” James Tatarian wrote in the letter.
The letter was read by a Fresno Armenian community member and former FUSD board member Michelle Asadoorian during public comment at Wednesday night’s regular meeting. James Tatarian lives out of state and was not able to attend, Asadoorian said. She also serves as Slatic’s community liaison.
“The fact that students in this building would not be taught the subjects he was most passionate about – writing, journalism, international relations — only strengthens our opinion,” the letter continued.
The letter said Tatarian’s surviving family is “hopeful” FUSD will consider naming a school after him and “finally” recognize a member of the Armenian community.
Fresno Unified does not have a campus currently named after someone in the Armenian community.
Asadoorian’s brother, Mark Arax, also spoke during public comment and said FUSD should change the name of Forkner Elementary School to H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School. Jesse Clayton Forkner was a developer in Fresno who, in the 1930s, included discriminatory clauses in the land he sold, Arax said.
Arax read an excerpt of the clause: “That neither the said premises nor any buildings thereon shall in any manner be used or occupied by Asiatics, Mongolians, Hindus, Negroes, Armenians or any natives or descendants of the Turkish empire …”
Arax said FUSD has honored an “unabashed white supremacist” and asked the current board to “wipe that stain” and rename the school for Tatarian.
Trustee Veva Islas said she “loved” the option of renaming the elementary school and said it would be “just.”
School naming shouldn’t divide community, trustee says
The board voted 5-2 on May 19 to name the campus at Ventura Avenue and 10th Street after Francine and Murry Farber, a philanthropic couple who’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to local education causes over the years.
But controversy erupted when the board proposed naming the campus studentengagement center building after Tatarian, despite a large grassroots effort led by Armenian leaders in Fresno to have the school carry his name. In a community survey, Tatarian received the most nominations by a landslide, receiving 929 nominations.
Trotter was second with 116 bids, and the Farbers received 88 votes.
Despite that, trustees, led by Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, who represents the area of the city that includes the new school, chose to name the school for the Farbers, citing their generosity to Fresno students and related education causes.
During the May 19 meeting, Jonasson Rosas proposed naming ancillary campus buildings after the other nominees, she said, “in the spirit of coming together.” And while the idea received support from most of the other board trustees, it fell flat with Tatarian’s family and supporters.
“I can understand and respect the (Tatarian) family wishes to not have any recognition at the campus,” Jonasson Rosas said. “It was always intended to be an honor and not something that divides our community.”
FUSD purchased the 12.5 acres on Ventura Avenue and 10th Street in October 2018 for $1.2 million. The district has $60 million in Measure M funding to complete the project, but the final price won’t be known until after the bidding process.
Fresno Unified is expected to recommend a bid to the school board in the fall, and the soon-to-be-built two-story building is expected by the summer of 2023, in time for the 2023-24 school year.
On Wednesday, the campus administration building was named after longtime FUSD educator Dolphas Trotter. The early education center was named after Dolores Huerta, a longtime civil rights activist who lives in Kern County.
A tumultuous debate The campus-naming debate became heated at times during Wednesday night’s meeting.
Jonasson Rosas said she was surprised by the community backlash over the school naming.
“It’s supposed to be about community pride,” she said.
But community anger erupted again during the emotional meeting with people shouting from the audience and accusing the trustees of anti-Armenian racism. At least two people were escorted off campus after outbursts during the meeting, including Fresno resident Andrew Fabela, who described the board’s school-naming decision as “arrogance.”
Fabela specifically criticized Trustee Carol Mills. The two have clashed publicly in recent weeks after Fabela in April questioned why Mills
wasn’t attending school board meetings in person.
Mills responded during the following board meeting a few weeks later, saying his remarks were “disparaging” against what she described as
her disability.
In recent months, Mills has appeared to struggle to speak during meetings, sounding out of breath at times. To speak during the last three meetings, Mills has primarily used a speech-generating program.
Wednesday night marked the first meeting Mills has attended in person
since the pandemic started.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that adding Roger Tatarian’s name to an ancillary school building was only proposed on May 19. The board did not vote on May 19 on the proposal to name a different building after him. The official vote on the proposal to add his name was scheduled for June 2, but FUSD trustees withdrew his name from consideration at the request of the Tatarian family.