The word “chief” will no longer be used in reference to job titles in the San Francisco Unified School District in an effort, school officials said, to avoid the word’s connotation with Native Americans.

In an administrative decision released on Wednesday, the school district decided to retire the term among its 10,000 employees, said spokesperson Gentle Blythe.

“While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it,” Blythe said in an email.

A replacement term has not been determined, but Blythe sought to emphasize that dropping the word “chief” from a title was not a reflection of a downgrade in job status.