Austin ISD's board of trustees asked the administration at its April 7 board meeting to vet several name suggestions for the district's new North Central Elementary School No. 2.

The district is retrofitting a warehouse on West Rundberg Lane near Metric Boulevard to house the school and held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 1. In February, the board invited members of the community to submit names for the school to the district for consideration, said Alex Sanchez, executive director of communications and community engagement.

"The district received a total of 55 nominations, which included 29 different names," he said.

Sanchez provided the board with copies of the nominations as well as a list of all names with added information such as known ethnicity or race and whether the person is living or deceased.

For the board to take action on a name, the district must first follow local policy, which includes researching each name's background, criminal records and history, he said.

Board members asked staff to vet names including Jaime D. Padron, Lucy Duncan, Csar Chavez, Gonzalo Barrientos, Juan Navarro and Hobart Gaines. Trustees added a few names that community members had mentioned but did not formally submit. Most of the names suggested for the school had between one and four votes while Padron had 11. Connor J. Grady, whose name trustees did not discuss, had eight votes.

Names considered must be "widely recognized" and the namesake must have been a model of excellence, but the board is not required to name a facility based solely on the number of people supporting a particular nominee, according to district policy.

Sanchez said getting guidance from the board on the nominations will allow the administration to proceed in preparation for board action. The board is scheduled to vote on a name April 28.