Del Valle ISD naming committee recommends Barbara Jordan, Eva Mireles, Andrew Zuniga or 'North Del Valle' for new high school

A nine-member naming committee has recommended four names — Barbara Jordan, Eva Mireles, Andrew Zuniga and North Del Valle — as the Board of Trustees’ preferred options for Del Valle ISD High School No. 2, district staff told trustees at the Oct. 21 board meeting.

The committee’s process followed Board Policy CW(Local), which sets a schedule and membership for facility-naming committees. Toni Cordova, who presented the committee’s report, said the panel received 246 nominations and met Oct. 6 to select its ranked recommendations. Cordova said the board will consider and may adopt the final name at the Nov. 4 meeting. The district plans to open the new high school in August 2027.

The committee described the reasons for each recommendation. The Barbara Jordan nomination cited Jordan’s role as the first Black woman from the South elected to the U.S. House and her public service; the Eva Mireles nomination noted Mireles’s death at Robb Elementary in Uvalde and a connection between Del Valle and families in that community; and the Andrew Zuniga nomination described a longtime district teacher and contributor to Del Valle traditions. The fourth recommendation, North Del Valle, was offered as a geographic, inclusive alternative for the campus that will serve areas north of Whisper Valley.

Cordova emphasized the recommendation was informational only at the Oct. 21 meeting and that the board will be asked to take action at the Nov. 4 meeting. Trustees asked clarifying questions about the committee composition and timeline; Vice President Susana Ledesma Woody and others thanked the committee for its work.

District staff stated the chosen name, once adopted, will be integrated into communications, branding and signage in the run-up to the campus opening in August 2027. Cordova also noted the naming process required committee meetings to be posted and open consistent with the policy and that the board would follow the policy’s requirement to consider the committee’s recommendations at least two weeks after they were posted.

No vote on the name occurred Oct. 21; the item was presented for information and will return for possible action Nov. 4.

Ending: The board must act formally to adopt a name; until then the district continues planning for opening the campus in August 2027 and preparing branding and signage once the name is selected.