Letters spelling out the name now adorn the Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s 21st campus.
Workers on Monday began installing the signage for the new William “Bill” Libbon Elementary School under construction at 720 Meehan St.
The school is named for a man who spent four decades mentoring youths in the Santa Maria Valley.
Libbon is the long-time director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Maria Valley,
The district’s board of education decided unanimously on the name after rejecting two other finalists after deliberating the options during meetings in April and May.
The is the second time in five years the board has taken the step of naming a new school, with immigrant brothers Roberto and Dr. Francisco Jimenez picked in 2015 as the name of the 20th campus.
At that time, Libbon’s name also landed among the top three finalists.
The new campus will open next month for the 2020-2021 school year, but will have to wait before housing students in person due to the public health crisis.
Like many other California school districts, Santa Maria-Bonita campuses will begin the new school year with remote learning based upon the COVID-19 cases.
Officials gathered in late February 2019 to celebrate the start of construction for the $41 million campus built by Santa Clarita-based AMG & Associates.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.