Brea Olinda Unified School District board members are planning to decide once and for all on whether they will move forward in changing one of the area’s elementary school’s name at the end of January. 

The efforts to rename William E. Fanning Elementary School began more than a year ago, driven by organizing efforts from a group called Rename Fanning. The group is led by Mike Rodriguez, a history and ethnic studies high school teacher, and Kris Percy, a family doctor in Brea. 

A list of names was found in the archives at the Anaheim Heritage Center and has been described as a roster of past Orange County Ku Klux Klansmen.

William E. Fanning, a respected pillar of the Brea community, was one of the names on that list.

Fanning was a former superintendent of the Brea Olinda School District where one of the elementary schools in the area was named after him. 

Fanning passed away a long time ago, but still has family members living in Brea. His two grandsons, Bill Fanning and Richard Fanning, have been attending the board meetings. 

Also in attendance are long-time residents like Julie Muzzall, who joined the Rename Fanning Elementary group efforts. Muzzall is a third-generation resident of Brea. Her family moved to Brea in the early 1900’s to work in the oil field. 

“The earth has layers of history and they’re built upon the other, but what’s underneath doesn’t go away,” said Muzzall. 

Muzzall started looking into her own family’s past and discovered secrets that she never knew about after she found out about the renaming movement. 

“I think whether you prove it or not, his name has been questioned. I’m sure he was a good man. I’m sure he did many good things,” said Muzzall. 

It’s unclear who created the list, how old it is and if it had a title. Fanning’s grandsons are refuting the claims their grandfather was connected in any way to the KKK. These are things the school board has to consider on January 28 at their next meeting.