The Poughkeepsie City School District’s Board of Education is reconsidering the new name planned to be given to Gov. George Clinton Elementary School in a continued effort to involve the community transparently throughout its renaming process.

The board scheduled a special meeting for Friday evening at which it will vote on, and expects to rescind, the new name of Roberto Clemente Elementary School given to the building that sits at 100 Montgomery St. The new names for the Columbus and Morse school buildings, Jane Bolin and Sojourner Truth, respectively, will remain. Watch the 5 p.m. meeting here.

The board decided to reopen the renaming procedure after listening to residents who expressed concern the Clemente name choice did not reflect opinions submitted by the community during the process.

“From the beginning, our goals were to ensure each district building name reflects the values we want to instill in our students and for the community to feel ownership of the names through engaging in the process,” said board President Fatimah Carmen Martinez Santiago. “Roberto Clemente is a worthy role model for all our students, including our Latino and Black communities, and may still become the new name given to Clinton Elementary. By reopening this process we’re not rejecting the name but ensuring anyone with concerns in this important decision is heard.”

The board intends to form a new ad-hoc committee following its organizational meeting in July to make new recommendations for Clinton to the board.

The board chose the names following a multi-year process of revisiting the namesakes of each district building to evaluate how their actions and values reflect the district’s values. In April 2024, the board formed its initial Ad-Hoc Committee Building Names Study Group, which spent nearly 10 months engaging with the community through two bilingual online surveys, visits to numerous school community events, a town hall event in October and multiple presentations at board meetings. The group was co-chaired by Martinez Santiago and board member Dr. Andrew Rieser.

Throughout, the board and Ad-Hoc group committed to the goal of involving the community and promoting its activities to give all residents a chance to be involved; this included promoting these efforts through newspaper and radio interviews, and messages posted on the school website, social media and other channels.

The Ad-Hoc group settled on suggesting to the full board three buildings – Columbus, Morse and Clinton – be renamed for Bolin, Truth and Clemente, and the board on Feb. 19 approved the new names. Both Bolin and Truth were prominently represented in survey responses; Clemente was suggested by a resident in the survey and was elevated by the committee when considering how to best represent the entire Poughkeepsie population.

In an 18-year career playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Clemente was a two-time World Series champion, the 1966 National League Most Valuable Player and a 15-time All-Star. He died at the age of 38 in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972, during a humanitarian mission to aid survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua.

In its report, the Ad-Hoc group wrote “Throughout his career, Clemente used his platform to advocate for racial equity, speaking openly against discrimination faced by Latino and Black athletes and ensuring that underprivileged communities received the support and recognition they deserved.

“For Poughkeepsie's growing Latino and Central American population, Clemente’s name serves as a beacon of representation and cultural pride. Students must see themselves reflected in the names of the institutions they attend, fostering a sense of belonging and connection to their history. His story teaches the power of determination, compassion, and standing up for justice, making him an inspiring figure for students of all backgrounds.”

Several residents have attended recent board meetings raising questions regarding the choice, including Fifth Ward Common Councilperson Ondie James on April 2.

In her researching Roberto Clemente, she said she found “not only was he a famous baseball player but he was also a great humanitarian.” However, in speaking with community members, “there were several that did not even know or recognize who he was as it relates to our city or as it relates to our community, or Poughkeepsie in general.

“I do not oppose Roberto Clemente as being a choice,” James continued, before requesting “the community would have one last opportunity” to be heard by the board.

Morse will be renamed Sojourner Truth beginning July 1, pending state Education Department approval, and the Columbus building is now operating as the Jane Bolin administration building. With the Clinton name change rescinded, any new name selected for the building cannot take effect until the beginning of the 2026-27 school year.