Fresno Activists Care More About City Politics Than Kids Who Can’t Read

On Wednesday night, 15 speakers came before the Fresno Unified School Board to pressure trustees into taking a position against SEDA, a land-use policy for an area several miles east of the city’s existing urban core.

Let’s be honest about what happened: Either these activists are misguided, or they believe the rest of us are sheep. Shame on them!

They showed up to manipulate a school board into weighing in on a city land-use debate. But where was this same outrage when Fresno Unified released test scores showing that far too many of our children are not reading or doing math at grade level?

That is the crisis.

Only 37% of Fresno Unified Students Meet ELA Standard

According to 2025 Smarter Balanced results reported by EdSource, only 37% of Fresno Unified students met or exceeded the state standard in English language arts, meaning 63% did not. In math, only 27% met or exceeded the standard, meaning 73% did not.

More than half of Fresno Unified students cannot meet grade-level expectations in reading. Nearly three out of four cannot meet the standard in math.

Darius Assemi
Opinion

Where is the activists’ outcry about our students not receiving the education they deserve?

Where were they when Fresno Unified was discussing these results? Where were they when the board was deciding who would lead the district as superintendent? Where were they when parents and taxpayers deserved public interviews, transparency, and accountability from the people entrusted with educating our children?

They were not packing the room demanding better outcomes for students. They were not demanding that superintendent interviews be conducted in public. They were not demanding a plan to make sure every child can read, write, calculate, and compete.

Only trustees Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, Susan Wittrup and Claudia Cazares had the guts to open up the wound and stand behind their position: the school board should focus on student outcomes, not meddle in city land-use decisions.

Focusing on student achievement. Now, that’s what real leadership looks like.

Political Theater, Not Leadership

What we saw Wednesday night was not leadership. It was political theater.

The same people who are silent when it is time to talk about student achievement suddenly become loud when SEDA can be used as a campaign tool. They have turned SEDA into a political weapon. They are using it to divide neighborhoods, pit districts against one another, and score points for future elections, especially those running for City Council or trying to influence City Council races.

That should offend every parent in Fresno Unified.

Fresno Unified is not a land-use agency. It is a school district. Its first obligation is not to control where homes are built but to educate children.

Yes, the district is losing enrollment. But this the first question those worried about Fresno Unified’s future should ask: Why are parents taking their kids to other school districts like Clovis and Sanger? Housing follows good schools, not the other way around.

The speakers and the four board members who supported the crowd were either ignorant of this fact or they were grandstanding.

The district has thousands of hardworking teachers, principals, staff members, and families who care deeply. But caring is not enough. The results are the results. When more than 60% of students are not meeting English standards and more than 70% are not meeting math standards, the board should not allow itself to be distracted by activists trying to drag it into a city planning fight.

Questions Need to Be Asked

Those activists and political candidates should ask themselves a simple question: Why are they more animated about SEDA than about children who cannot read?

Why is a land-use debate several miles away more important than the daily failure happening inside classrooms right now?

The answer is uncomfortable. For some, SEDA is not about students. It is about politics. It is about control. It is about using fear to divide Fresno. This is what the speakers tried to achieve Wednesday night.

Fresno deserves better than that.

If these speakers truly care about Fresno Unified students, they should come back to the next board meeting and demand answers about literacy. They should demand math improvement. They should demand transparency in leadership decisions. They should demand public accountability from a district that has failed to deliver acceptable academic results for 50 years.

Do not show up only when there is a political fight to exploit.

Show up when children are falling behind. Show up when parents are desperate. Show up when the district is choosing its next leader. Show up when the board needs pressure to stop hiding behind process and start producing results.

The future of Fresno’s children will not be determined by slogans about SEDA. It will be determined by whether Fresno Unified can teach students to read, write, think, and succeed.
That should have been the focus Wednesday night.

And it should be the focus every night until the numbers change.

About the Author

Darius Assemi is the publisher of GV Wire and the CEO/president of Granville Homes. He owns 30 acres in North SEDA.