A proposed censure of Fresno Unified School District trustee Terry Slatic would remove him from committee leaderships and bar him from representing the district at public events until he completes a district-approved anger management program.
The resolution also puts Slatic on notice that if he fails to comply with board policies, regulations, bylaws, and the resolution, the board will refuse to cover his legal costs from any “claims or actions resulting from said conduct.”
The Fresno Unified board will vote on the censure resolution at a public hearing scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. during Wednesday’s board meeting.
“That’s never going to happen,” Slatic said Monday about the possibility of attending anger-management counseling.
Slatic said he wasn’t aware of the proposal that could result in him losing a board member’s legal indemnification covering actions as a trustee. He also said that he wasn’t worried about the possibility of his legal costs not being covered.
As for the proposed censure resolution, Slatic said: “I think that they’re stretching the definition of censure far beyond anything that’s ever been done in the history of boards. I’m sure that my attorney will have some fascinating comments about restricting me from doing my elected position.”
 

The Censure Resolution

The proposed resolution finds that Slatic has “engaged in abusive and unprofessional conduct with staff, students, fellow trustees, and members of the public, and exceeded his role as a board member.” It also finds that his behavior, language, and conduct toward district employees, students, and the public violate district policies and board bylaws.
He is accused of raising his voice to district staff and other trustees, and of making “inappropriate demands that exceed his authority as an individual board member.” The incidents have hurt staff morale and are a distraction from the primary mission of educating children, the resolution says.
The resolution outlines a series of incidents involving Slatic and a Bullard High School student, a Bullard wrestling coach, an Army recruiter at the campus, and Bullard cheerleaders, all of which have been or are being investigated by the district.

TRO Hearing Delayed

Meanwhile, on Monday, a Fresno County Superior Court temporary judge continued a hearing into a request by a 16-year-old Bullard cheerleader for a restraining order against Slatic, who she said caused her anxiety and stress after he met with the squad in July.
At the meeting, Slatic warned the girls against continuing to talk about a social media posting showing a video of a Bullard cheerleader in blackface using the n-word, which became national news.
Judge Noelle Pebet on July 17 denied the temporary restraining order but scheduled a show-cause hearing for Monday. The hearing was continued until Aug. 26 after Pebet found that Slatic had not been properly served with legal papers on the matter.
After a Fresno Unified special meeting July 18 that was called to talk about Slatic’s meeting with the cheerleaders, the board voted to bar Slatic from the Bullard campus for two weeks and to require a district administrator to escort him when visiting any district site. The board also voted to create an ad hoc committee to review the evidence and present a censure resolution to the full board.

No Recall Papers Filed

The county clerk’s office said Monday morning that no documents to start a recall of Slatic have been filed. People have called for Slatic’s recall at board meetings and in small protests near Bullard High School.