Fresno Unified trustees have voted to change the board’s role, a move that the Fresno Teachers Association says gives more power to new Superintendent Misty Her.

However, trustees who supported the change say it was made to made to improve student learning — a position echoed by district spokesperson Nikki Henry.

“The changes do not give any more power to the superintendent,” said Henry. “Instead, it holds the superintendent accountable for reaching the goals and guardrails.”

The board is responsible for all actions made by the superintendent, according to trustees.

However, trustee Susan Wittrup said the change restricted the board and would benefit from revision. She cast the lone opposing vote.

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Amended Bylaw Legally Changes Role

Bylaw “BB 9000 Role of the Board” underwent revision from a bylaw subcommittee consisting of trustees Veva Islas, Claudia Cazares, and Andy Levine.

The board approved the recommended amendments in a 6-1 vote on April 30.

“I think it was important for us to put into our bylaws the goals that we worked really hard on over the summer and talked to our community about,” Cazares said. “We are serious about being student outcomes focused.”

The FTA voiced concern that this would cause transparency issues and exclude public input.

“There are many opportunities to make your voice heard outside of the board meetings,” Henry countered.

She listed multiple ways the public could share their input. These include School Site Councils, Parent Advisory Committee, Parent University leadership academies, and focus groups.

Related Story: Fresno Unified Board May Vote to Hand More Control to Superintendent

Student Outcomes Drive Bylaw Change

The school board is working to streamline their meetings and increase the focus on student achievement in a district with chronically low test scores and college readiness.

The district adopted a set of goals and guardrails in January to begin turning things around. The four goals center on early literacy, literacy intervention, college and career readiness, and life skills. These are alongside guardrails surrounding community engagement, equitable access, effective staff, and health and wellness.

As the board implements these into the bylaws, responsibilities become more clear-cut, separating into “superintendent work” and “board work.”

The distinction could prompt future board members to exclude items from public meetings, labeling them “superintendent work” FTA president Manuel Bonilla told GV Wire.

“It gives more power to administration and the superintendent around things called ‘operational items’ and it gives a lack of accountability to the board in regard to addressing those items in a public forum,” Bonilla said.

Trustees Respond to FTA Concerns

The school board, while not making some decisions themselves, has responsibility for all actions made by the superintendent, trustees said.

“The truth is that this bylaw does help to distinguish between the roles of the superintendent and the board,” Islas said. “It is important, but in no way does it abdicate our responsibility and our commitment to the district, to the students, and to our families. Anything that we do delegate to our superintendent, we’re still accountable for.”

The amendments include axing certain language not pertaining to student outcomes and the approved goals.

“There are no goals for school safety, manageable class sizes, mental health supports, or adequate facilities — which means the board can simply choose not to address these critical issues because they were not adopted as goals,” FTA said in a social media post.

The guardrails reflect school items not included in the four goals, remaining a responsibility of the administration with the board’s oversight, according to Levine.

“We’ve heard some concerns that this means we’re not going to be responsible and focused on things like student and school safety. Just want to be absolutely clear: That is the furthest thing from the truth,” Levine said.

For example, student and site safety would fall under the health and wellness guardrail, Levine said.

“Frankly, we can’t meet those goals without having good facilities. We can’t meet those goals without students feeling safe. We know we can’t have student achievement if our students aren’t being fed or aren’t healthy,” Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said.