 "Photo: Bryant Haertlein")
Johnston High School's campus in East Austin will re-open on Aug. 25 as Eastside Memorial High School.
The Austin Independent School District's Board of Trustees unanimously voted for the name after a month-long nomination process. The name is a compromise between Eastside High School and Memorial High School, two of the most popular suggestions among the community. The name pays homage to Johnston High School war veterans.
Of the 618 votes cast for the 206 nominated names, Cesar Chavez received 101 votes, followed by 55 for Memorial and 48 for Eastside. Willie Nelson, Sen. Barack Obama and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo were also nominated.
Johnston High School students left for summer vacation in June knowing they would not return to the same school in the fall after the Texas Education Agency closed Johnston due to academically unacceptable ratings for the fourth year in a row.
"Whatever name we pick will probably disappoint some and excite others, but at the end of the day, it's going to be about supporting the students and supporting the school - whatever the name is," said Board President Mark Williams.
Board member Sam Guzman nominated the school's new name after receiving input from the public at community meetings throughout the summer.
Geneva Oliva, president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at the new high school and alumna of Johnston High School, attended the meeting with her daughter, Catalina Herrera, and her daughter's friend, Julissa Rodriguez, who will be seniors at Eastside Memorial.
Oliva, who attended the school along with her 10 brothers and sisters, spoke on behalf of naming the school Eastside but is happy with the compromise.
"We're all coming from the East Side, and it's all family," Oliva said. "It's a family affair."
Betty Zapata and her brothers Jesse and Richard Roland said they were pleased the school will remember Johnston High School war veterans, such as their brother, Jon Paul Roland.
Roland was the first Hispanic from Johnston High School killed in the Vietnam War. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating in 1963.
"He loved Jonston High School; he was devoted to Johnston High," Zapata said.
Dan Arellano, veteran and member of Tejanos in Action, a service group for veterans who were honorably discharged from military service, said he was hoping for Veterans Memorial but is also pleased with the compromise.
"There were so many veterans that came out of Johnston High School - 16 that were actually killed in Vietnam - that we decided we needed to honor all of them," Arellano said.
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