Placentia : Campaign to Rename School District Heats Up

The battle over a proposed name change for the Placentia Unified School District has escalated, with Yorba Linda families who want the district renamed Placentia-Linda preparing for a hearing later this month before the Orange County Department of Education.

Earlier, Yorba Linda parents presented petitions with 750 signatures seeking the name change to the Placentia Unified School Board. The board voted 3-2 against the proposed change, according to Isabelle Jambon Hlavac, who said she opposes the change.

The Yorba Linda families, who “feel that they don’t have the type of representation they want in the district,” subsequently presented the petitions to the county department, which has tentatively scheduled an April 23 hearing on the issue at its Costa Mesa office, Hlavac said.

Hlavac, a second-generation Placentia native, said the name change would be of “no direct benefit” to students, whose educational frame of reference is usually based on their school, not a district name.

The district includes all of Placentia, portions of Yorba Linda, Anaheim, Fullerton, Brea and unincorporated county areas.