Naturalist educators who work at Clovis Unified’s Sierra Outdoor School in Sonora have filed a petition with the California Public Employment Relations Board seeking union representation with the Clovis Educators Association.

The 12 naturalists are the latest Clovis Unified employee group to submit a petition with PERB.

According to an ACE news release, the Sierra Outdoor School naturalists are seeking more resources and support and a stronger voice in decision-making.

Clovis Unified did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Wednesday evening, district spokeswoman Kelly Avants confirmed that the district has received a copy of the petition. Clovis Unified is “currently working with PERB to confirm it accurately represents the group of seven full-time naturalists at the school,” she said in an email.

According to the union’s news release, Clovis Unified assumed responsibility in 1988 for the outdoor school, formerly known as the Regional Learning Center, which is located in Tuolumne County about 136 miles from Clovis. It serves more than 12,500 visitors yearly, including students from 87 other school districts such as Fresno, Sanger, and Madera unifieds.

The naturalists lead more than 3,000 classes in subjects such as science, adventure and history, and also undertake other tasks such as mentoring interns, handling birds of prey, and operating a challenge course.

But the staff has been stretched thin because of the growth in offerings, the news release said.

“Even though our work is critical, we face unique challenges compared to other educators in Clovis Unified,” Scott Maas, naturalist at Sierra Outdoor School, said in the news release. “Our remote location and the complexity of serving multiple districts place additional demands on our roles. By joining ACE, we will be better able to advocate for the resources we need and to have a say in decisions that affect our ability to provide high-quality outdoor education.”

Psychologists Signed Up First

The first Clovis Unified employee group to join ACE was the school psychologists and mental health service professionals.

ACE won recognition as the union representative of those 78 employees after they filed a petition for representation in June 2021, about two months after the union started gathering signatures of the district’s 2,100 certificated employees.

In August the district’s 28 American sign language interpreters filed with PERB for representation by ACE. That petition is moving through the process, and the interpreters will “sunshine” at the next board meeting, said union spokeswoman Kristin Heimerdinger.

ACE has yet to sign up the district’s biggest employee group — its 2,000 teachers.

District Loses PERB Decisions

But the union has scored several victories against the district.

A series of PERB decisions has found the district had unfairly supported the Faculty Senate as the unelected labor representative of teachers and other certificated employees in an attempt to discourage ACE’s organizing efforts

In June, PERB issued a cease-and-desist order requiring the district to disestablish the Faculty Senate. PERB’s order also required Superintendent Corrine Folmer to be video recorded reading the cease-and-desist order and for that recording to be played at in-person teacher meetings.

The order also requires the district to eliminate from schools, websites, postings, and documents any reference to what has become known as the portion of “Doc’s Charge” that states “professionals who work in our district are proud that we do not have collective bargaining.”

“Doc’s Charge” was developed by founding superintendent Dr. Floyd “Doc” Buchanan.