A school board member has proposed renaming a New Jersey elementary school after President Donald Trump.

Robert Scales of [Colts Neck Township School Board](https://www.nj.com/education/2025/12/linda-mcmahon-turns-nj-middle-school-visit-into-wwe-esque-atmosphere-as-protestors-boo-outside.html) made the proposal at a meeting Wednesday night, asking for the board to create a committee to explore the idea.

The exploratory committee would “see not only how much this would cost, but what lines, if any, could be crossed by naming a school after a president,” Scales said.

The Monmouth County district has two schools with almost identical names — Conover Road Primary School, which serves students pre-K through second grade, and Conover Road Elementary for students in third through fifth grades.

The Trump name would go on Conover Road Primary School under Scales’ proposal.

“What person is doing things that protects our school?” Scales said in suggesting Trump deserves the honor.

Scales said the renaming of the school for Trump could coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence later this year.

The school board didn’t immediately act on Scales’ request for an exploratory committee to consider the name change.

School district officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposal.

But some school board members said they supported the name change.

“I love the idea,” said school board member Vincent Rugnetta.

He also suggested renaming the neighboring elementary school after Joshua Huddy, a local who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Colts Neck overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election with 69% of the vote, compared to 29% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

But some residents said they hated the idea of seeing the Republican president’s name on a local public school.

“School names are supposed to reflect the virtues we hope to instill in our children: integrity, humility, service, respect for the law, and a commitment to community over self,” Colts Neck resident Matthew Jenkins said in an [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVfGNi9iZOt/?igsh=eTYzeDM0MXc5MnZp) post.

“Donald Trump does not embody those values. He represents division over unity, grievance, overgrowth, personal loyalty over public responsibility,” he continued.

Jenkins, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th District in 2024.

A former school board member wrote a letter to the school board this week asking members to reject Scales’ proposal over the security concerns that could come with naming a building after Trump.

“Naming a school after a current public figure may not only be divisive, but it also poses safety concerns for our students,” wrote De Noia, a parent in the district.

Colts Neck, a suburban district with about 2,400 students, has ties to Trump.

Colts Neck School Board President Angelique Volpe and her husband, fellow school board member Kevin Walsh, have invited Trump to visit the district, she said.

  
Walsh has been director of security for the Trump Organization in New York for the last five years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Volpe said during the school board meeting that she recently sent Walsh information about the dozens of schools nationwide named after former President Barack Obama and the lack of schools named after Trump.

“Just to be completely transparent, I’ve — me and Kevin — have reached out to the President and would love to have him visit our district as well,” Volpe said.

Volpe also invited Trump administration officials to a local school last year.

Colts Neck hosted U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon during her [“History Rocks!” tour](https://www.nj.com/education/2025/12/parents-furious-as-patriotic-event-tied-to-charlie-kirk-comes-to-nj-school-im-absolutely-speechless.html) in December. Many [parents in the district objected to](https://www.nj.com/education/2025/12/nj-school-board-president-will-not-apologize-after-education-secretary-visit-calls-state-senator-a-weasel.html) the visit because of the initiative’s partnership with right leaning groups, including [Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA](https://www.nj.com/sussex-county/2025/09/charlie-kirk-memorial-in-nj-canceled-because-too-many-people-were-going-to-show-up.html), Moms for Liberty, the America First Policy Institute and the conservative Christian Hillsdale College.

  
At this week’s school board meeting, Colts Neck Schools Superintendent MaryJane Garibay did not say if she supported renaming a school after Trump or creating a committee to consider the topic.

But Garibay explained how the Conover Road Primary School got its current name.

“It’s named after a landowner of Colts Neck,” Garibay said. “We were actually a beneficiary of the Conover estate when they passed.”

Members of the Conover family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Colts Neck school board policy from 2009 outlines the process the board would need to follow to change a school’s name.

“Names selected to be applied to any facility or building shall be free from biases, prejudices, or political, and/or religious connotations. In selecting a name for a school, the board shall consider the location, community and local heritage,” the policy said.



Trump Elementary? Bold proposal made to rename this N.J. school (Colts Neck)