At a tense meeting Monday evening, parents, alumni and community members expressed disapproval of a proposal to rename Melbourne High School after a Hispanic astronaut.
Although United Third Bridge, Hispanic advocacy organization that initially petitioned for the name change, has called for the application to be rescinded, Brevard Public Schools held the second of three scheduled public meetings to gather community feedback on the proposal to rename Melbourne High School “Astronaut Joseph M. Acaba Melbourne High School.”
Acaba taught science for one year at Melbourne High School and four years at Dunnellon High School in Marion County. He was the first person of Puerto Rican heritage to be named a NASA astronaut candidate in 2004, and has gone on to visit the International Space Station on three missions, spending a total of 306 days in space.