Fresno Unified Faces Huge Backlash Over Reassignments in Tense Meeting

Fresno Unified’s top ranks faced strong community backlash Wednesday night over its decision to reassign skilled, popular principals and vice principals.

But despite the outcry from district families, educators, and the Fresno Teachers Association, a district spokesperson said that the lateral movement of five principals and 26 vice principals will stick.

The reason for community concern: Many of the leaders being moved are seen by district families as essential to learning and student well-being. Moving them will be “disruptive” and “detrimental,” to their schools, said speakers in the packed boardroom.  

“There are cultures and relationships that have been developed in these institutions for years, said Matt Mahera, a Herrera Elementary parent. “And when you disrupt that by just moving people around like chess pieces, that’s when instead of it helping everybody, it ends up hurting everybody.”

Drama on the Dias

School Board members jumped in to give their two cents, leading to tense confrontations among trustees at the final School Board meeting before the summer break.

Trustee Susan Wittrup requested that Superintendent Misty Her reverse the reassignments. 

“My biggest concern is that we didn’t involve (human resources) in this process,” she told GV Wire after the meeting. “If HR was involved, they could have recruited new leaders, so all this disruption did not have to take place.”

Board President Veva Islas shared a different opinion, saying the district made these changes in the effort to have more schools succeed. The reassignments will bring balance and educational equity, ensuring solid leaders in all schools, Islas said.

Meanwhile, Her chose to stay silent on the matter, not making any comment from the dias.

Additionally, speakers called out Trustee Valerie Davis, who allegedly told parents to stop emailing her because she is busy.

Davis did not respond to GV Wire’s request for comment.

Four Schools Condemn the Moves

The Fresno Teacher Association shared letters from four schools condemning the moves and asking the district to reconsider.

“Elementary Schools thrive and rely heavily on consistency and strong community bonds,” stated a letter signed by 30 Leavenworth Elementary School educators. “Two years ago, our school went through a difficult administrative change that disrupted our community. Our current administrative team provides vital foundation that allows our students and educators to thrive.”

The district carefully considered all reassignments, which were driven by community need, efforts to balance administrative teams, and providing development opportunities for aspiring leaders,  district spokesperson AJ Kato said.

Despite public outcry, Fresno Unified will not reconsider the lateral movement, Kato said.

“Lateral placements occur every year. Healthy cultures are built and sustained by staff, students and leaders, not any one person,” Kato previously told GV Wire. “We are confident that the changes will improve progress and outcomes for all Fresno Unified sites in alignment with our district goals.”

Related Story: Fresno Unified Leadership Reassignments Draw Widespread Parent and Staff

Fresno Unified Has More Reassignments Due to Early Retirements

Lateral movement is not uncommon in school districts, including Fresno Unified, but this amount of movement is rare.

Typically, the district reassigns about 5-to-10 school leaders a year, according to Kato.

The increased movement is the result of 573 employees accepting an early retirement incentive offered by the district to save money amidst an $89.5 million budget deficit. This resulted in 14 principals and 11 vice principals retiring.

The vacancies caused a ripple effect, which the district saw as an opportunity to rebalance leadership teams.

This has allowed the district to place veteran personnel with new site administrators, the associate superintendent of school performance, Dr. Marie Williams, told reporters.

“We just sort of had this landscape where there was an opportunity for us to try and balance out teams,” she said. “Sites that lost both of their folks, somebody retired or was promoted, there was an opportunity to balance out those teams to respond to the needs of our community.”

For example, Fresno Unified worked to ensure that each school has a leader who speaks Spanish.

However, many community members worry the changes could negatively affect school culture and long-standing relationships among school leaders, educators, and students. 

Educators and Parents Demand Increased Community Involvement

Educators and parents also raised concerns about the decision-making process, which many felt lacked community input and communication.

Several speakers pointed to the district’s community engagement guardrail, which requires the district to seek community input before making impactful changes.

A letter from Duncan Polytechnical High School, signed by more than 65 staff members, condemned the district’s lack of collaboration.

“Too often, school communities learn about major decisions after they have already been made, with little opportunity to share their experiences or concerns beforehand,” the letter stated. “We believe those voices should be part of the conversation.”

A letter from Malloch Elementary stated an identical message.

“They are the same because they are both from site educators,” FTA President Bonilla told GV Wire. “These sites reached out to me separately for support, asking how they can have their voice heard. I offered them a template and gave them the option to edit as they saw fit.”

However, the district does not typically engage the community on lateral movements, Williams said. And final reassignment communications typically come out now.

Community Raise Concerns About Fresno Unified Communication

Fresno Unified says that staff began communicating with affected schools in February with in-person meetings.

However, an anonymous letter from a Fresno Unified principal, published by FTA, pushes back against that claim.

 “We simply received a quick call at the end of May saying where we were being moved to,” the letter states. “We haven’t received any communication stating the reasons for the changes, only what’s been published in the media: that FUSD wants to balance teams.”

The district recently finalized placements at the May 27 board meeting, Kato told GV Wire. At that time, the schools were able to inform all teachers and community members.

Williams acknowledged the concerns raised.

“Absolutely, we want to have better communication if that’s what people feel was a miss in this process,” she said.

This back-and-forth highlights ongoing tensions between Fresno Unified and school communities as district leaders are heading into what is expected to be tough bargaining with FTA.

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