A former Fresno Unified trustee will have to pay $15,000 for not reporting a lavish steak dinner at an educators’ retreat.

The Fair Political Practices Commission levied the fine against Terry Slatic for receiving a gift beyond the financial limit and failing to timely report a gift. The gift that caught the state political finance watchdog’s eye: a 2021 dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse in San Diego.

He also was fined $1,500 apiece for failing to report gifts in 2018 and 2019 within the time limits, bringing the total penalty to $18,000.

Slatic served one term representing District 7, generally known as the Bullard High School area, from 2018 through 2022. He lost his re-election bid to Susan Wittrup in November 2022. He has since served as a weekly commentator on KMJ radio.

GV Wire broke the story in 2022.

Slatic had no immediate comment.

In 2022, Slatic told GV Wire the investigation of the complaint lodged by then-Superintendent Bob Nelson against him should have halted as soon as it was evident that the dinner in question was paid for by Nelson on his personal credit card and not Nelson’s district expense account.

Lavish Meal Details

Nelson hosted Slatic and the five other trustees for a dinner at the fancy Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse. The dinner was part of a tradition while the trustees attended the California School Board Association Conference.

State finance disclosure laws require reporting of any gift greater than $50, with a yearly limit for all gifts of $520.

The price for the dinner was listed as $193, an investigation from the Fresno District Attorney’s Office and FPPC revealed. Nelson arranged for a fixed-price menu in 2021 “because, in the past, the bill was inflated by some of the attendees,” FPPC documents said.

Slatic, through various means, allegedly stacked up his dinner to $1,562 ($781 each for Slatic and his guest). The add-ons included two upgraded tomahawk steak dinners (at $145 apiece), and several alcoholic drinks.

The drinks of choice included four Chopkin Vodka shots ($14.50 per shot), a shot of Don Julio Tequila ($33), and two bottles of Opus One Wine ($435 each). Slatic allegedly shared one bottle with his guest at the table. FUSD Chief of Staff David Chavez reported he had half a glass as well.

Chavez also reported that Slatic took one bottle back with him to the hotel.

FPPC documents said Slatic arranged with the restaurant ahead of time to charge the drinks as food items.

Slatic Charged With Five Violations

Nelson reported the infraction to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, who forwarded the complaint to FPPC.

Slatic faces three counts from the 2021 meal — failure to timely report a gift, failure to accurately report a gift, and accepting a gift over the limit. The investigation also found that Slatic failed to timely report gifts in 2018 and 2019.

The maximum fine is $5,000 per count, or $25,000 in Slatic’s case. The FPPC is proposing a $1,500 penalty for the 2018 and 2019 failures to report, and $5,000 for the three counts related to the 2021 dinner.

“The violations are not isolated but part of a pattern of violating the (Political Reform) Act,” the FPPC said in its stipulation documents.

While the other five trustees also failed to report the dinner correctly, Slatic is the only trustee to receive a fine. The DA’s office sent a letter to the trustees, informing them about reporting gifts, and the gift limit.

Slatic filed an amended 2021 financial disclosure document.

“Slatic underreported the value of the dinner by $1,367 by reporting the value of the dinner at $195 instead of $1,562. Slatic has not attempted to pay down the value of the gift and no additional amendments have been filed to properly disclose the value of the gift,” the FPPC said.

The FPPC will formalize the fine at its June 19 meeting in Sacramento.