Staff with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools has recommended that the committee overseeing school districts deny a petition from Ventana Hills residents to leave Sierra Unified School District.

A staff report says a request from the residents to shift their neighborhood into Clovis Unified School District does not meet the state’s rules around redistricting and does not serve the area’s educational needs. Staff recommended that the Fresno County Committee on School District Organization deny the residents’ petition. The committee will meet next on Nov. 7.

“It is the overall recommendation of County Superintendent staff that the County Committee disapprove/reject the Petition, as it does not best serve local educational concerns and needs, and moreover it fails to meet minimum Education Code requirements for approval,” the staff report.

Ventana Hills Residents Want to Be in Clovis Unified

Many parents in the Ventana Hills community on Auberry Road had petitioned to transfer their property from Sierra to Clovis, saying travel time up the mountain is burdensome for parents working in Clovis and Fresno. Staff with Sierra Unified said the annexation would negatively impact future school enrollment and budgets.

Lead petitioner Marc Thurston said he was “disappointed” by the staff’s recommendation.

“When 80% of your neighborhood’s children choose to attend school elsewhere, that should be a red flag that something is wrong,” Thurston said. “Yet the report didn’t address what’s best for the children, it only focused on the future money for the opposition.”

Disclosure: Ventana Hills developer Darius Assemi is also the publisher of GV Wire.

To be considered, a petition to leave a school district must meet nine criteria focused on ensuring the action wouldn’t harm education. The petition met two of the criteria, according to the staff analysis.

Staff said the petition needs to meet those criteria and best serve local education needs.

“The petition fails on both counts,” staff said in its report.

“We thank the FCOE for supporting a denial of the territory transfer petition; it is the only right thing to do, as the ‘criteria’ were clearly not met,” Sierra Unified Board Chair Cortney Burke said.

“Our community came out to both hearings in full force to show the committee we are against the petition, the petitioners were a team of two, who didn’t even make it to the second hearing; and the developer’s interests were on full display at both.”

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Staff Sees Long-Term Consequences in Ventana Hills’ Secession

Staff largely looked at what the long-term impact of Ventana Hills’ departure would be on Sierra Unified, which has seen substantial enrollment declines in recent years. Losing the still-developing 200 acres of Ventana Hills would not only mean missing out on future enrollment but also lost bonding capacity and developer fees.

According to the petitioners’ presentation, Granville Homes does not now pay developer fees to the district. However, Ventana Hills’ 13 lots would generate $114,033 of property tax revenue if Sierra Unified’s $24 million Measure U construction bond on the November ballot passes.

But the county superintendent’s staff looked at the long term. To make the redistricting map contiguous to Clovis Unified, 430 acres of undeveloped land were added to the petitioners’ proposal. While no plans exist to develop that land, according to the petitioners’ presentation, county staff considered the possibility of homes being built there in the future.

“In the short term, approval of the petition may not significantly impact the number of pupils enrolled, but the removal of this population growth territory would harm Sierra Unified’s future ability to reach and maintain an adequate number of pupils as established by state guidelines,” the staff report stated.

Ventana Hills Residents, Builder Say Sierra Unified Decision About Money, Not Kids

Thurston said during the first meeting he felt Sierra Unified’s reasons to keep Ventana Hills were about money rather than parents’ choice.

“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,” Thurston said.

Assemi said he was disappointed with the decision.

“Sierra did a great job bringing a lot of folks from their district — about 100 people — that put a lot of pressure on the committee,” Assemi said.

“I’m hopeful the committee will look at that group of homeowners that live adjacent to Clovis Unified and not just the people in the audience,” he added.

Petitioners Failed to Convince Staff That Exit Isn’t About Property Values

State law requires that property values cannot be the main reason for a school district transfer.

During two public meetings, criticisms arose from petition opponents about the relationship between Granville Homes and homeowners. Thurston repeatedly said he and other homeowners do not have any connection to Granville other than buying a home from the company.

Assemi said he always supports Granville residents.

“I’m always an advocate for my homeowners,” he said. “My tenants, whether they live in an apartment complex or they’re our homeowners, whatever their issues are, I get involved. I personally get involved.”

Related Story: Sierra Unified Up in Arms as Petition to Leave District Gets Public Hearing

But staff wasn’t convinced.

Even though staff said they don’t question the sincerity of the petitioners’ motivations, they could not ignore the matter of property values.

“It is an acknowledgement of the substantial historic and ongoing formal and informal efforts from the Assemi Group, Inc. and Granville Homes to have property taken out of Sierra Unified and moved into Clovis Unified, in an obvious effort to increase the perceived marketability, and therefore the property value, of land owned and/or under development,” the report stated.

Staff cited emails going back to 2015 asking about property transfers. In 2015, Jeff Roberts of Assemi Group emailed the superintendent of schools asking about the transfer process. Roberts could not be immediately reached by GV Wire.

In 2019, a petition was circulated among homeowners in Ventana Hills to transfer into Clovis Unified, according to emails provided by staff.

“This reorganization will reduce travel times and distances to school, thus improving safety, for the students included in the reorganized territory,” a notice of intent from lead petitioner and homeowner Jeffrey Johnston read.

Thurston said that Granville did help with analysis for the latest petition, but homeowners’ reasons for leaving were their own.