New high school in Fresno will be named after beloved football coach
Central Unified School District’s new school will be named Justin Garza High School, the board voted Tuesday night.
The name of the school was chosen from a list of about 200 suggestions submitted by the public.
The board voted 4-3 to name the new high school after the former Central High football coach. Trustees Terry Cox, Richard Atkins, and Jason R. Paul voted to call the school Central North High School, which had 173 submissions from the community, double the submissions Justin Garza High School had.
The school is slated to open in the fall of 2021 and will sit on the northeast corner of Ashlan and Grantland avenues, adjacent to Harvest Elementary.
The new high school will ease congestion at the district’s east and west campuses, which have 2,616 and 1,600 students, respectively. Those campuses are currently using portable classrooms for the overflow of students.
Voters approved the new high school in 2008, but when the recession hit, the district ran out of money before finishing construction.
A beloved football coach
Garza was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011. After a six-year battle with cancer, he died at age 41. He left behind a wife and two children.
Garza’s wife, Regina, said she was “overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.”
“On behalf of the entire Garza family and especially Justin’s friends and supporters including the board of trustees and administration, thank you for this honor. Justin was a light…and he continues to be,” Regina Garza said Wednesday.
While Garza was battling cancer, many Central Unified employees gave him some of their sick leave, allowing him to remain on paid leave until he died.
Former Central Unified athletic director Rich Clayton sent a six-page letter to the Central school board, urging them to name the school after Garza.
“I am so happy for Regina and Justin’s entire family and thankful for the four board members who stood for more,” Clayton told The Bee on Wednesday. “The naming of the high school after Justin Garza feels as though the world finally gave us something positive to hold onto. For once, the good guy won.”
Bullard football coach Don Arax said he was happy for Garza’s children.
“This represents the exclamation point of the incredible legacy he left to them,” Arax said. “He lived a life that mattered.”
Former players also praised Garza this week and described the effect they say he had on their lives.
“Coach Graza was not only a great coach but a great man. He pushed us as players to be better men than athletes,” said former Central football player Johnny Johnson. “ He always led by example and always taught us it was about the team and not individuals.”
“When Coach Garza walked into the room, you put down what you were doing and gave him your attention.,” said former player Nick Szpor. “When he was in charge of anything, confidence was high that success was inevitable.”
Garza launched his coaching career in the 1990s and also coached football at Reedley and Sunnyside high schools.
Some of his career highlights include a signature 26-10 Reedley win over rival Sanger in 2007; a County/Metro Athletic Conference title at Sunnyside in 2010, including wins over Edison (28-0) and Bullard (49-28); and at Central a Central Section Division I runner-up finish in 2012 and a co-Tri-River Athletic Conference championship in 2013.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 7:46 PM.