The seven candidates running for three seats on the Fresno Unified School Board talked about their top priorities if elected, whether they support having police officers on campuses, and what would be their first priority if they win election in November.

Candidates Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, Joseph Aquino, Andy Levine, James Martinez, Emma Villa, Dan Bordona, and Claudia Càzares  gathered at the Big Red Church on Van Ness Boulevard on Tuesday evening for a candidate forum sponsored by Youth Leadership Institute, Community Media Access Collaborative, and the Central Valley United For Power coalition.

Not surprisingly, there were a number of youth-focused questions given to the candidates, including how the candidates would incorporate youth voices in district planning, decision-making, and budgeting.

The issue of equity resonated through many of the questions and answers. One example of inequity raised was Fresno High School’s aquatics program for girls, which has turned into a campaign issue for the Fresno High region candidates.

Focus on Swim Program

Villa, one of two challengers to Levine in that region, said she wants to make sure students across the district have the same access to high-quality academics, no matter their ZIP code. But equity should include extracurriculars as well, she said.

“We have in Area 5 our aquatics program. Our students should be able to have the opportunity to learn to swim,” she said. “Our aquatics program needs to be developed so that we have a competitive aquatics program with some of the other areas. It just baffles me why our aquatics program doesn’t have equity, and this is just symbolic of a lot of the other issues that we have with Fresno Unified.”

Backers of re-establishing the girls swimming team at Fresno High have mounted a campaign, including a petition drive on change.org that had drawn 1,100 signatures as of Thursday.

Closing the Achievement Gap

On the question of how he would address the district’s achievement gap in academic performances, Hoover region challenger Bordona said that the district hasn’t been asking the right people to help address the problem. He said teachers, not administrators or outside consultants, should be asked for their ideas on how best to close achievement gaps.

“If those outside consultants were truly getting the job done, we’d see those achievement gaps narrowing, and we’re not seeing that,” Bordona said.

He is one of two candidates whose races are being heavily underwritten by the Fresno Teachers Association.

The other is Martinez, who responded to a question about teachers feeling undervalued by noting that the district had faced a potential teachers strike that was called off at the 11th hour last fall when the two sides reached agreement.

“They are not being respected. They’re not being listened to, and they’re being pushed to the side with the decision-making process at the district level that is excluding them,” he said.

Advocating for Measure H

In their closing statements, incumbents Levine and Càzares made a pitch for voter support for Measure H, the district’s $500 million bond measure on the November ballot that requires 55% voter approval to pass.

“Regardless if I get reelected or not, this community needs to pass Measure H, because some of our schools are failing structurally, and it’s not fair for our students and our teachers to have to show up every day to teach and learn in facilities that are not up to par. So whatever you can do to help us get the word out to pass Measure H, which is being implemented together with the teachers association and the equity tool, I would appreciate,” she said.

“And I’ll just echo what Trustee Càzares said, that we really need to get Measure H passed,” Levine said. “Unfortunately, we have $2.5 billion in need. This (Measure H) is just 500 million, but it’ll go towards our most urgently needed investments around our school facilities. And so again, any support you can provide to get the word out and to consider that on your own ballot if you haven’t already submitted it, would be greatly appreciated.”

Watch the Forum

Tuesday’s candidate forum is available at this CMAC link.