Onomastics is the study of the origin, history, and use of proper names. A lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court last week says the San Francisco Board of Education flunked the course.

At issue is the process the board followed in determining which San Francisco Unified School District schools bore the name of individuals who did not deserve to be so honored, whether because they were slaveowners, subjugated indigenous people, or were otherwise responsible for racist, sexist or other offensive conduct.

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.