Talk:Desert Sands Unified School District

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[edit] Ronald Reagan Middle School: will it ever be named for him?

I want to bring up a news story that shocked the nation in 1991, when the Desert Sands Unified School District voted to name a middle school to open back then (Indio Middle School) for US president Ronald Reagan. Then the school administration president (I forgot his name, but he's not there anymore) disagreed and gave his filibuster statement: "What did President Reagan did good for public education? Nothing! Reagan and the Republicans cut over half the national education budget under his presidency in the 1980s. He's the worst president in matters of national and state (when Reagan was governor) education, and I don't want that middle school named for him! Indio isn't a big Republican community, we're mostly Democrats anyway, and tell the rich retired golf club crowd in Palm Desert, we will never let our schools be named for Reagan!" The DSUSD administration agreed to later drop the name in favor of Indio Middle School, to follow the tradition of La Quinta and Palm Desert, to title middle and high schools for cities. In June 1992, Ronald Reagan cancelled his appearance in the first day of Indio Middle School and said (I can't remember in verbatim) on how politicized and inappropriate for the DSUSD to refuse naming a school in his honor, for "being a bad governor/president to decrease public school funds and neglected education as the top priority". I'm sure the DSUSD has changed since then and now Reagan passed on in 2004, it would be nice and honorable to name a school for him. There's a proposed middle school in west (or north) Indio slated to open in 2009 might be named for him...but I wonder if any future schools in DSUSD will be named for "very controversial" presidents like George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush may draw fire by some liberals, and Bill Clinton may generate protest by some conservatives. + 63.3.14.129 23:16, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Ronald Reagan Elementary School was opened for the school year 2006/2007. There is listed a school with the name Country Club Elementary. This school is now Ronald Reagan Elemntary. A new school complex is just now under construction on the north side of Interstate 10. This is going to be a K-12. No names have been published by the school board yet.