Golden Charter Academy got the green light from the Fresno Planning Commission to move forward with its new school on Belmont Avenue, and also got an unusual and somewhat noteworthy apology from the commission’s acting chair, whose niece happens to be a member of the academy’s Board of Trustees.

The new $20 million school, designed by noted Fresno architect Arthur Dyson, is projected to be a bright spot and a potential catalyst for development on one of the city’s more barren corridors. The school’s new location is across the street from Fresno Chaffee Zoo, the partner for Golden Charter Academy’s environmental and place-based curriculum.

The school recently received a renewal of its charter from the Fresno Unified School District and backers have been busy raising money to build the new campus.

Related Story: Changes OK’d for Golden Charter Academy After Two Hours of Questions

The school construction project had gotten the green light in February from the Council District 3 Project Review Committee and in August from Jennifer Clark, the city’s planning and development director.

Six days after Clark’s decision, City Councilman Miguel Arias filed an appeal.

“I appeal this decision for discussion at Planning Commission to explore the conditions of approval related to public improvements, and to explore the modifications to the development standards of the Fresno Municipal Code,” he wrote.

Appeal Denied, Prompting Review by Planning Commission

Clark subsequently denied the appeal, leading to last Thursday’s review by the Planning Commission.

But in the meantime school officials had met with Arias to review the changes he sought, which included improved sidewalks and pedestrian lighting, and agreed to foot the bill for some at an additional cost of $450,000, the school’s founder, Robert Golden, told the Planning Commission.

But that’s not the only cost that the school would have to bear. Because of the delays in moving the project forward, Golden Charter Academy will need additional classroom spaces at its current campus and will have to purchase modular classrooms, said Golden, an Edison High grad and former NFL player who returned to his hometown to start up the charter school.

Related Story: Former NFL Player Returns Home to Open ‘Disneyland of Schools’ in Fresno

“That’s $800,000 that could have went towards our scholars. That $800,000 that could have went towards additional staff to support our scholars, that’s $800,000 that could have been able to be applied to more environmental justice work that our scholars are doing right here at Golden Charter Academy,” he said. “So when I said that I wasn’t excited to be before you all, it wasn’t anything that you have done. It was because we have taken $800,000 from our budget to be able to meet not only this appeal, but the delay that this appeal has caused to our project.”

After hearing from school employees and supporters, the Planning Commission voted last week to uphold Clark’s denial of Arias’ appeal and also to reject the revisions that Golden Charter officials had already agreed to and approve the plan as originally submitted and approved.

Bray: ‘I’m Sorry This Happened to You’

Commission member Kathy Bray, filling in as chair at the meeting, then took the unusual step of thanking Clark for denying Arias’ appeal and apologizing to Golden and other school supporters for the delay.

Bray noted that in her first stint on the Planning Commission she adhered closely to the Municipal Code in her decisions and votes. That changed after she took a sabbatical and then returned to the commission.

“When I came back, I realized that I wasn’t going to do that anymore. There is the Municipal Code and it’s developed for a good reason, to make our community better. But we also need to have common sense at heart. And that’s what I see missing in a lot of the decisions that are made,” she said.

Bray praised the project, calling it beautiful, inspirational, and “a great project” and then added, “I’m sorry this ever happened to you. It’s not forgivable.”

The commission then voted unanimously to uphold Clark’s denial of the appeal and stick with the originally approved plan, minus the revisions.

More Review Possible?

This might not be the final word on the project, however. It still could come up before the City Council if Arias asks to have it put on the agenda.

Arias said Tuesday he is waiting for information from city planning and legal officials about the Planning Commission’s 5-0 vote that included Bray’s. Her niece, Hannah Johnson, is on the Golden Charter Academy Board of Trustees and spoke at the commission meeting in favor of the project.

He said he expects official notification of the commission’s decision to come next week, “at which point like any other project I will evaluate the pedestrian safety, safe route to school infrastructure, lighting, and drop-off and pickup zones.”

Belmont Avenue, which is a truck route and which separates the school’s new site from the zoo, does not have a crosswalk that Arias says would be “critical” for the daily trips to the zoo by Golden Charter students.

“During my tenure we have invested millions to build safe routes to schools for Muir, Susan B. Anthony, Adams, Edison, Gaston, McKinley and Tilley schools. Building such safety improvements after the fact cost $3-$5M and takes several years,” Arias said in a text message. “Building it as part of the project is cost-efficient and reduces the likelihood of children being lost to accidents.”

Big Career Expo Set at Chukchansi Park

More than 2,500 high school students are expected to descend on Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno on Wednesday for the annual Central Valley Career Tech Expo.

The expo is hosted by the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools’ Regional Occupational Program/Career Technical Education department.

Students will have the opportunity to explore career opportunities in the Valley, speaking with industry professionals and participating in hands-on demonstrations to get in-person exposure to different careers. More than 120 industry professionals are expected to participate, in addition to local trade schools, apprenticeship programs, and colleges.

The pathways will include medical, automotive and transportation, building trades and construction, early childhood education, agriculture, energy and utilities, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, public safety, and engineering and architecture.

The expo will be open to the public from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Top Dogs Also Top Sponsors

After learning that the annual Top Dog Awards dinner was being postponed, School Zone took a look at the Fresno State website devoted to the 2024 honorees and the list of sponsors and noticed some similarities.

The ceremony has four levels of sponsorship, starting with the Presenting Sponsor (Fagundes Dairies and Farms), Champion Sponsors (Fresno State Foundation, Media Solutions Inc., Orloff Jewelers, PANISH | SHEA | RAVIPUDI LLP, and Wawona Frozen Foods), Supporter Sponsors (Fresno Unified School District, Barthuli Insurance Services, Marjaree Mason Center, Carol and Mark Scott, ProScreen, Sagaser, Watkins & Wieland PC, U.S. Bank, and Valerie Vuicich), and Partner Sponsors (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California, Congressman Jim Costa, Gazebo Gardens, Santillan Strategies, Stephen Investments, Inc. & Pilibos Bros, and Whelan Financial).

This year’s honorees include Nicole Linder, CEO of the Marjaree Mason Center; Tami Lundberg, FUSD’s chief technology officer; Carol Scott, owner of Carol Scott Consulting; Lloyd, Ralph and Fred Fagundes of Fagundes Brothers Dairy; and Phouangmala Diane Phakonekham, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California.