Years ago, one of Amarillo’s four high schools almost used the name of a future Amarillo high school.
According to Amarillo Independent School District records, in 1954, the AISD Board of Trustees battled over what to name the new high school in North Amarillo. Several names were thrown out to stand over the doorways of the school. By June 1954, the front-runner for the school’s name was Gene Howe High School, a name to honor the local newspaper publisher. However, in September, one board member attempted to force a vote on a proposal to name the school North Amarillo High School. That motion was eventually tabled.
On October 4, 1954, board members finally decided upon the name for Palo Duro High School. Three motions were made at the meeting: one to name the school North Amarillo High School, one to name the school Palo Duro High School, and another to name the school Caprock High School. Eventually, trustees settled upon the name of Palo Duro.
A few years later, in 1962, the school board cast a split vote to name the new southeast Amarillo high school Coronado High School. However, at the next meeting, patrons of Coronado Elementary School appeared before the board to protest the decision, saying if the high school was to be named Coronado, their school’s name should also be changed. Amid controversy, the board voted 4-1 to rename Coronado High School as Caprock High School.
Today, both schools serve students of the Amarillo ISD system, alongside Amarillo High School and Tascosa High School.
