The Austin ISD board of trustees voted to rename Pearce Middle School, the district's new Young Women's Leadership Academy, for Bertha Sadler Means starting with the 2014–15 school year.

"I could go on and on and name the number of things that she did with civil rights right here in this city," said AISD trustee Cheryl Bradley.

Among her achievements, Means was a teacher, a founding member of St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, and was an active member of the Austin branch of the NAACP.

The board approved the renaming 7–1, with trustee Robert Schneider opposing. Trustee Vincent Torres was absent from the meeting. The Austin ISD board of trustees considered a variety of names submitted by members of the AISD community. During citizens communication, a few attendees asked the board to consider naming the school for Liz Carpenter, who was an activist, author and journalist known for serving as press secretary in the White House to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Trustee Amber Elenz said the board should consider Carpenter as a namesake for a future facility.

Pearce Middle School, located at 6401 N. Hampton Drive, was originally named for James E. Pearce, who was the principal of Austin High School from 1895-1917. The board can rename a facility if it has been more than 50 years since the official naming of school or if the building is repurposed or has a programming change, according to AISD. The board approved changing Pearce to a single-sex school on Dec. 16, 2013.

At a March 17 work session, trustees discussed the timeline for possibly renaming the school, which will open in August as an all-girls academy along with Gus Garcia Middle School, which will be an all-boys school. Community members had until March 20 to submit nominations.

More information is available at www.austinisd.org/naming.