 James R. Garfield, the son of the slain president, gave the principal address at the ceremony.In 1928, the Ku Klux Klan lost its majority on the Akron School Board; the rule regarding the naming of newly constructed schools was eventually repealed, and Firestone High School was opened at a different location in 1963.In 1966 Garfield High School became the first comprehensive high school in Akron when it opened an addition for vocational education facilities.