Opposing sides had their first chance to publicly voice their opinions on a petition from some homeowners to transfer more than 600 acres of foothill land from Sierra Unified School District to Clovis Unified.

Parents, students, and educators filled the Foothill Elementary auditorium Thursday for the first of two public hearings on Ventana Hills residents’ petition.

Petitioners say the travel time up the mountain to take their children to school is “burdensome to the point of prohibitive” for parents who work in Fresno and Clovis, according to lead petitioner and Ventana Hills homeowner Marc Thurston.

But annexing the land takes away money “crucial for (the) district’s future growth and revenues,” countered Sierra Unified School Board President Cortney Burke.

“It’s hard to believe that a subdivision developed by choice within our district borders should be able to petition an annexation,” Burke said.

(Disclosure: Ventana Hills is developed by Granville Homes, whose president and CEO is GV Wire publisher Darius Assemi.)

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Petition About School Choice: Ventana Hills Residents

Throughout the nearly four-hour-long meeting, some residents and board members accused the petitioners of being a part of Assemi’s desire to sell more homes. However, other defenders of the district were amicable, calling on Ventana Hills parents to try Sierra Unified.

Speakers opposing the transfer lauded the district and the tight-knit mountain community. The board said allowing Ventana Hills to move to Clovis Unified opens up the possibility of future transfers. It could also cost the district millions in potential bond dollars upon the development’s completion.

Parents from Ventana Hills, which is near Millerton Lake, insisted that keeping the community in Sierra Unified comes at the cost of school choice. With 16 of the 18 homeowners signing the petition, they said they should be able to pick what school to send their kids.

And amid the controversy and accusations, lead petitioner Thurston said it was Sierra Unified that looked at his daughter as an asset in their resolution.

“My daughter is basically commented on that she is an $18,690 asset to the school district’s balance sheet,” Thurston said. “And I have a really tough time wrapping my arms around that because she’s our everything. What frustrates me is you look at the resolution they discussed and not one place in there does it mention about what is best for the children of Ventana Hills, and that’s why we’re here tonight.”

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One Ventana Hills Child Has Near-Weekly Medical Appointments

Ventana Hills resident Enjoli Black said her daughter’s medical condition requires near-weekly medical appointments.

Both her and her husband work for PG&E, drawing them down as far as Bakersfield sometimes. They moved to the area because they liked the large lots, but having to take her to regular meetings means driving in the opposite direction. Having her in Clovis would mean going in the same direction.

“If she were in Sierra Unified, we would have to drop her off at school, go to work, pick her up 45 minutes away for a doctor’s appointment, take her to the appointment, and then take her back to school before returning to work,” Black said at the meeting. She said a doctor’s appointment could mean a whole day without school for her daughter.

Of the 10 children in Ventana Hills, eight go to different school districts and two attend Sierra Unified schools. Those parents told Thurston that despite signing the petition, they would keep their kids at Sierra regardless.

Jones requests an interdistrict transfer every year to send her daughter to another school, she said, as do other parents.

“This is just a really big burden for my husband, Calvin, and I simply because we have a daughter with medical needs,” Black said.

Sierra Unified Enrollment on the Decline

Sierra board members and attorneys said the territory transfer would mean lost revenue for the shrinking district. With declining enrollment, the exodus would threaten other school programs and funding.

“The loss of even 30 students represents one full-time equivalent that could mean the end of our visual arts program, that could mean the end of our (career technical education) program if we lose even one teacher because of how small we are,” said Dr. Lori Grace, superintendent of Sierra Unified.

This is at least the second attempt to transfer Ventana Hills territory to Clovis. To make the proposed map legal, petitioners added 430 acres of undeveloped land to the 200 acres at Ventana Hills to connect the proposed territory to the Clovis district.

Enrollment at Sierra Unified has also been declining. At one point, Sierra High School had more than 1,000 students. Now, the high school has 400 students.

The creation of Chawanakee Unified School District in 1991 drew Madera County students away, said Janelle Bryson, assistant superintendent of business at Sierra Unified. Liberty High School in Madera Ranchos and Minarets High School also drew away students. The district had to shutter several programs.

In the decades since, the district has closed numerous elementary and middle schools. Burke said the petition-signing parents were trying to undermine the district despite wanting to live outside the Fresno and Clovis city limits.

“A few individuals — 16 it looked like earlier — who chose to build and live here in this mountain community for the beautiful scenery, for the acreage, for the love of the mountain are now seeking to undermine us through the territory transfer petition,” Burke said.

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Bonding Capacity Affected If Move Approved

The district is also trying to pass Measure U, a $24.2 million bond to upgrade old facilities, that will appear on the November ballot. Voters within Sierra Unified have twice turned down previous bonds. The territory transfer — though years away if approved — would take away taxable properties.

At current levels, the 13 lots would bring in $114,033 of property taxes under the proposed bond rate, according to analysis presented by Thurston.

But the bigger worry is future dollars. At full buildout, Ventana Hills could bring in $798,215 in bond money. Petition opponents also looked at undeveloped land, some of which is held by 104 Investments LLC, a private company with the same address as Granville Homes, according to Shin Green, consultant hired by Sierra Unified.

Green calculated it to be a potential $7 million. Daniel Babshoff, member of the Fresno County Committee on School District Organization — the committee tasked with the decision to approve the transfer, sending it to the state for the next step in the process — questioned Green on the likelihood of development, however.

In development since 2006, only 13 of a total of 91 lots have been built at Ventana Hills, Thurston said.

Accusations About Developer-Backed Petition Arise

Assemi’s name and the Granville brand arose repeatedly throughout the evening. David Soldani, attorney representing Sierra Unified, said he found the petition “particularly troubling.”

“I say that because it doesn’t really appear to be about education, about community, or any of the traditional reasons for such transfers,” Soldani said. “What I see here is a developer-backed petition.”

Petition opponents brought up that being in Clovis Unified is a selling point for Granville developments.

Assemi said in a statement that Graville is “passionately committed to supporting all educational opportunities in Fresno County.”

“Our goal is to create thriving communities where every child has the opportunity to succeed, and it starts by having that choice,” Assemi said.

Black said she has never talked to Assemi, nor is she affiliated with Granville.

“I’ve never actually talked to Darius,” Black said. “I do ask that the committee take into consideration the preferences and the needs of the parents and the families of the children that live at Ventana Hills.”