Santa Maria-Bonita School Board postpones school naming decision

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Santa Maria-Bonita school district board discussed the three possible names for the district's new elementary campus on Wednesday night.

School board members made supportive comments about each name but were not able to come to an agreement on what the school's name will be.

Motions were made to name the new school Bill Libbon Elementary or Pleasant Valley at Enos Ranch Elementary, neither received majority approval by the board.

The school naming item was tabled to be discussed again at the May 13 board meeting.

A committee consisting of district employees, students, parents and community members narrowed the list of more than 130 suggestions down to three for the board to discuss.

The first is Enos/Enos Ranch/Joseph Enos - He purchased the property where the new school is being built from the Smith Family in 1904 and established a farm on this property.  Joseph and his wife, Mary,  purchased hundreds of acres of local land to provide farms for their seven children. The second, and longest, location of the first school building in the Santa Maria Valley was at the Enos Ranch. 

The second is Bill Libbon - He is a former student of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and a mentor to local youth for more than 40 years.  In 2014, Bill retired as director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Maria Valley where he worked for 40 years. Bill attended Alvin, Robert Bruce and Oakley schools.  He also attended El Camino Junior High, Santa Maria High School, and Allan Hancock College.

The third is Pleasant Valley - Pleasant Valley was the name of the first school built in what is now the Santa Maria Valley. The school officially opened in 1869 with 15 students on property that is now part of Allan Hancock College. In 1874, the Pleasant Valley School building was pulled by teams of horses one mile south to property owned by the Smith family and later, the Enos family.