Fresno Unified administration, led by new Superintendent Misty Her, presented the Fresno Teachers Association with a document this month citing every instance that union leadership criticized Her in a “inflammatory, unprofessional, or dismissive way,” a document acquired by GV Wire shows.

However, there was one huge problem. A dive into the nine-page document showed that every quote attributed to FTA was fabricated by the district — possibly created by artificial intelligence, said union president Manuel Bonilla.

In all, Her’s dossier cited seven quotes across three media sites — GV Wire, The Fresno Bee, and ABC30 — and 29 FTA emails and three FTA social media posts. GV Wire reviewed all of the news stories and confirmed that none of them contained the material that Fresno Unified described.

Now, the FTA is calling for accountability and disciplinary action against employees who created and published the document. The union is also considering legal action, Bonilla said.

“If anyone acted with negligence or misconduct, we’re saying that they should probably be terminated or subject to termination,” Bonilla said. “And then anybody that allowed this to go unchecked and communicated it, obviously there should be some type of disciplinary review.”

Calls and emails sent to the district and to board members by GV Wire to discuss this story were not returned.

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Superintendent’s First Actions Include Compiling Attacks Against FTA

Her directed staff to scour media reports and emails from FTA to members for any messaging from the union the district viewed as a “personal attack” against the superintendent going back to 2023, said Bonilla.

Staff members then compiled a list of the since discredited 39 quotes into a document called “Instances of Fresno Teachers Association (FTA) Leadership Targeting Superintendent Misty Her.”

Her, Fresno Unified’s Communications Chief Nikki Henry, and Chief Human Resources Officer David Chavez presented that document to Bonilla at a May 7 semi-regular meeting.

Her became superintendent on April 23 — two weeks before that meeting.

The document accuses FTA of “persistent framing of Superintendent Her as disingenuous, authoritarian, or incompetent.”

In addition to GV Wire’s finding that none of the quotes attributed to the stories ever appeared, Bonilla said he confirmed with ABC 30 and The Fresno Bee that quotes attributed to those news organizations were never used in their stories.

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The URLs from hyperlinks made by Fresno Unified to the news stories all ended in “utm_source=chatgpt.com,” suggesting that artificial intelligence was used to some degree in the dossier.

None of the quotes cited from emails made to union members were accurate, either, Bonilla said. Most of the emails — 23 of 29 — were said to have taken place on days no emails were sent, he added.

District policy on artificial intelligence states that users will employ the system “responsibly and ethically.”

Rule No. 5 says “learners will not employ AI systems to make high-stakes decisions that significantly impact people’s lives without proper human oversight, transparency, or the ability to appeal.”

District Interpreting Criticism as Racism, Sexism

Bonilla also disputed that any of the quotes in the dossier were personal attacks.

But the record shows that Bonilla has been critical of the district’s choices to eliminate certain programs, the superintendent search process, and about some personnel.

One attributed to The Bee about the controversial superintendent search process alleged that Bonilla said, “The process was flawed from the start. It gave an unfair advantage to internal candidates like Misty Her and failed to consider strong external voices. Our students deserve better.”

That quote never appeared in a Bee article.

Another attributed to an FTA member email states “Superintendent Her’s vision isn’t about shared leadership — it’s about top-down control.”

FUSD staff told Bonilla at the May 7 meeting that the union’s criticisms against Her led to racist and sexist attacks from the community, Bonilla told GV Wire.

At the April 23 board meeting announcing Her’s official hiring as superintendent, she told the public about attacks against herself and family members. She said she had received racist and sexist attacks for being Hmong and a woman.

Bonilla said that the union condemns racist and sexist attacks. Criticisms against the district involve policy or leadership decisions. He said they also try to include a solution in emails.

He said construing criticisms as attacks creates a culture of silence.

“When you frame things, valid criticisms, as personal attacks, then you go so far as to suggest these supposed personal attacks then lead to actual incidences, and then you don’t know how influential your voice is in inciting those incidences, it feels to me as a way to try to silence valid criticism moving forward,” Bonilla said.

Fresno Unified communications previously doubled down on its post attacking FTA Executive Director Louis Jamerson. That response came after the union posted a guessing game about the superintendent’s salary.

One of the new superintendent’s promises centered on district accountability.

“We were sold a bill of goods in regards to a change in culture and ‘we’re going to do things,’ and then within the very first couple of weeks of a new administration this particular thing happens.  That’s frustrating,” Bonilla said.

Fresno Unified to Begin Negotiating With Teachers This Year

The district will begin negotiating a new contract for teachers after the summer session.

The last contract negotiations in 2023 nearly produced the first teachers strike in decades. Teachers set up informational picket lines and the district hired potential substitute teachers, but a strike was averted at the last minute.

The district will have to make a contract with FTA as the sides negotiate a budget with an estimated $49 million deficit, according to EdSource.