HUTTO — Hutto Independent School District now knows what to call its eighth elementary school.
During its Thursday, Feb. 22 meeting, district trustees approved a motion to name the campus “Lee Martinez Elementary School.”
According to a Hutto ISD social media post, Lee Martinez worked for the district as a bus driver for more than 20 years.
“We look forward to sharing more information about Mr. Martinez and his contributions to the community in the days to come,” Hutto ISD said.
LMES will be constructed on about 20 acres of district property along Destiny Lane and Farm to Market 1660 North, adjacent to the Hutto Ninth Grade Center.
When the school opens, which is scheduled for fall 2025, Hutto ISD said it will serve 800 kids in pre-K through fifth grade.
Before landing on Lee Martinez Elementary School, trustees used a rubric to help score potential names. The rubric asked participants to weigh if the namesake made exceptional and significant contributions, represent exemplary human qualities, if they had political affiliations, if they were deceased and their relevance to the local area.
Points were given for each category in the rubric, with some questions being rated on a scale and others being a simple yes or no.
Trustee Felix Chavez said using a rubric to help the board decide was the most scientific way to select a name.
“Removing the emotion from families you might recognize and people you might feel, as a board member, that might have a little bit higher straw, fit,” Chavez said. “The rubric really went through the process of allowing us to do that, that’s the important part. There is no favoritism here.”
Lee Martinez was chosen over nine other finalists which consisted of Ray Gavit, Connie Gooding, Manuel and Lupe Herrera, Chris D. Kelley, Robert A. Ledbetter, Janiece Nelson, Adam Orgain, Bobby Rogers and Mary Ann Stern Whitfield.
Noelle Newton, executive director for communications and community relations, said a total of 226 nominations helped determine the final 10 nominees. Nominations were taken throughout January. Board President Billie Logiudice, who ultimately made the motion to name the school after Martinez, said trustees surveyed the final names privately and independently to help inform the decision. “We should be proud of all the people who invest in our vision: expiring excellence in academics, character and community,” Logiudice said. “That’s our vision today, but that’s been happening through people for generations before us. We can feel really proud.”
Hutto ISD will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for LMES sometime this spring.
