Dixie School District Parents Petition For Name Change

SAN RAFAEL, CA – Parents of students in north San Rafael's Dixie School District will deliver petitions to change the name of the district on Tuesday, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

The petitions wrapped in ribbons call for a mandatory vote by the district school board on the name change. The district's Board of Trustees is required to vote on the issue within 40 days under the California Education Code, proponents of the name change said.

Proposed new names for the district include Big Rock, John Muir, Live Oak, Live Oak Valley, Miller Creek, Miwok, Miwok Hills, Oak Valley, Skywalker and Terrawood Valley.

Parents will present the petitions between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at the Dixie School District Office at 380 Nova Albion Way in San Rafael.

The school district was founded in 1864, around the time of the U.S. Civil War, and its three K-5 elementary schools and one grade 6-8 school serve the communities of Terra Linda, Marinwood, Lucas Valley and a portion of Contempo Marin.

The connection to the "Dixie Confederacy" is a painful reference to many, and several parents and community members wish to disassociate from the history of slavery and segregation.

• ALSO SEE: Crab Feeds 2019: SF Bay Area Guide To All-You-Can-Eat Feasts

--Image via Shutterstock/Bay City News/Susan C. Schena, Patch, contributed to this post