After tabling the naming issue twice, the Cupertino Union School District made a final decision at its Dec. 2 meeting, changing the name of Portal Elementary School to Murdock-Portal as the school is slated to move into the site of the old Carol Murdock Elementary School in December.

While the Murdock neighborhood considered the decision a victory, some parents and teachers from Portal Elementary School burst into tears as the board approved the new name.

"They stripped us of our identity," said Erika Lo, whose 8-year-old son, Andrew, is a third-grader at Portal. Her 4-year-old daughter, Sarah, will attend Portal kindergarten next year. "Portal is not just about the French pioneer Louis Portal but about the program. Once you identify with that name, it becomes part of our identity." Actually, the Portal community has developed six beliefs that represent each letter of the word Portal. For example, p stands for parent involvement.

Although he doesn't know who Portal is, Andrew said, "I don't like it. People might just call us Murdock instead of Portal."

For the past three months, the name change had been an emotional subject for both the Murdock community and the Portal Elementary School community. Superintendent William Bragg first proposed renaming Portal to "Portal Elementary School at Carol Murdock Site," a name he believed would please both sides but still failed to win the support of the Murdock neighborhood.

The Murdock neighborhood didn't like the word "site." "Names are important. They keep people alive. Sites are dead," said Murdock resident Robert Miller. "It is not a site as long as it keeps Carol Murdock alive." Since the Carol Murdock Elementary School opened in San Jose in 1965, named in memory of the school district's first female principal, the school has been a symbol of the neighborhood.

The Murdock residents protested that the district failed to engage them in the renaming process. Their complaints prompted the school board to table the issue at its Sept. 23 meeting. On Oct. 14, about 50 residents spoke against the proposal again. School board members suggested at the meeting that both communities meet and come up with a name that both parties could accept.

Hence both communities selected five representatives and met on Oct. 27. They reached a consensus: Murdock-Portal Elementary School.

But just one day before the school board was ready to cast its final vote on Nov. 14, Portal staff asked the superintendent to remove the item from the agenda, claiming that the Portal representatives—who included Portal Principal Leslie Mains, two parents and two teachers—were not representative enough.

In a letter to the school board and Superintendent Bragg, the teachers argued that the Oct. 27 meeting "occurred before input from school site council and Portal staff was available. The board's decision to hold this meeting was made during our annual two-week October break, making it difficult to solicit information about our community's preference."

To respect the Portal teachers, Superintendent Bragg removed the item from the Nov. 14 agenda so the board could have one more hearing at its Dec. 2 meeting.

School-board President Ben Liao proposed naming the school "Portal-Murdock" instead of the agreed-upon "Murdock-Portal." But that proposal didn't win the support of the other four board members.

"Our vote didn't mean we don't support the Portal community," said board member Pearl Chang. "The board asked them to spend time coming up with a name. They did and we needed to respect that process."

Board member Josephine Lucey said, "My hope is that the passion of both communities can merge and create a better school. We hope the Portal school can say they have happy kids, high-performing kids. We also hope the community can happily say, come on in."

The very next day after the board meeting, Portal Principal Mains made an announcement to the students, explaining the history of Carol Murdock and the importance of compromise. She also assured the students the Portal mascot will still be the penguin, the school color teal and the school song the same.

"Now the name is decided, we can focus on the move and getting the classrooms ready for the students," Mains said. "It is time to move on. It is time to celebrate the new name and the new school."