After a Monday settlement conference involving Fresno Unified, trustee Keshia Thomas, and former Bullard football coach Don Arax failed, the district said it is not liable in the defamation case between Arax and Thomas.

In a statement to GV Wire, a district spokesperson said it took part in the Monday mediation because “that is the right way to try to resolve disputed litigation, not because the district believes it bears responsibility for a private, personal statement it did not make.”

With a trial scheduled for December and a possible multimillion-dollar judgment at stake, Fresno Unified will have to convince a jury that it is not liable for Thomas’ alleged defamation stemming from a 2022 appearance on GV Wire publisher Darius Assemi’s ‘Unfiltered’ show, where she accused Arax of calling her son the N-word.

The spokesperson said that only the superintendent at the time, Bob Nelson, or the board president, Veva Islas, could make statements on the district’s behalf.

“Fresno Unified takes seriously any concern about how members of our community are treated, and we understand the seriousness of a lawsuit like this one,” the spokesperson said. “At the same time, the district did not make the statement at issue in this case, did not authorize it, and did not endorse it.”

Fresno attorney Roger Bonakdar, who isn’t involved in the litigation, called the district’s attempt to get out of liability “ambitious, if not potentially delusional,” given the history in the case.

“She’s invited onto the show because she’s a trustee, she’s identified as the trustee, she’s discussing official district business in addition to this bad comment,” Bonakdar said.

“Buckle up, buttercup, you’re going to trial,” he added.

Bob Nelson: ‘I Didn’t Contemplate Potential Implication on Mr. Arax’s Reputation’

Thomas appeared on Unfiltered in 2022 as a trustee to talk about racism at Bullard High, where she had, before that appearance, held a forum to talk about racism.

The district says it takes accusations seriously.

Nelson, however, testified in a 2025 deposition video acquired by GV Wire that the district never investigated the truth of Thomas’ accusations.

In that deposition, he corroborated Thomas’ testimony that she was instructed by counsel not to correct the record and recant that Arax ever used the racial slur — especially to media.

During questioning, attorney Brian Whelan asked Nelson: “Did you care to find out the truth, is my question, when Ms. Thomas told you that Mr. Arax had used this bombshell of a racial slur against her son, did you care to learn more?”

“I didn’t pursue the matter further with her,” Nelson said. “If that equates to not caring, I can’t really speak to that.”

In a follow-up question, Whelan asked: “Were you concerned at that time, even a little bit, that this claim that Mr. Arax had used this extremely racist statement against a student, if untrue, would harm Mr. Arax’s reputation?”

“Again, I didn’t contemplate potential implications on Mr. Arax’s reputation,” Nelson said.

Nelson said that the district had protocols in place to investigate accusations against teachers or other employees for using racial epithets, but it didn’t go both ways.

“There’s not a policy in place to protect the reputations of the falsely accused to my knowledge,” Nelson said.

District’s Failure to Investigate an ‘Adoption of the Truth’: Bonakdar

The district will have a hard time extricating itself from the case, said Bonakdar.

Despite the district saying that only the superintendent and board president can speak on its behalf, the trustee is elected to speak for its constituents.

“That would be like saying that a state senator doesn’t speak for the state that they represent, each one of those trustee represents a geographical region within the district,” Bonakdar said.

The district has at many times declined representation for trustees, according to former Bullard High area trustee Terry Slatic.

For example, Fresno Unified did not defend Slatic and his predecessor, Brooke Ashjian, Slatic said. The district also denied defense for former Fresno High-area trustee Carol Mills and former Superintendent Michael Hanson on a matter, Slatic said.

The district, however, has paid as much as $650,000 for Thomas’ legal representation, according to statements made to the media by Fresno Unified.

Potentially adding to its liability, the district republished news stories about Thomas’ accusation against Arax.

Combined with Nelson’s testimony that the district did not investigate, the republication of the stories showed culpability, Bonakdar said.

“The failure to investigate is arguably an adoption of the truth because if you don’t care if it’s true or not, then that means you’re willing to take the risk,” he told GV Wire.

What Happened After

According to the video deposition, Thomas testified that when asked if she was cleared to appear as a trustee on Unfiltered, Nelson knew she was going on the show.

Nelson agreed with Thomas’ statement saying he verified with his chief of staff that she called to inform the district ahead of her appearance.

Furthermore, when Arax first filed his defamation case, the claim was for $10,000. Nelson testified that standard policy is to deny a claim. Now, damages could be in the millions.

Also in a 2025 deposition, Thomas tried to walk back her accusations, saying on the record that she never made the claims against Arax, despite appearing on a live, recorded internet broadcast. In July, her son said in a sworn declaration that he never told his mom about Arax using the racial slur.

That declaration led to a series of events, resulting in Islas saying that it would not cover Thomas’ damages if she were to lose. Additionally, she said the board would consider no longer paying her legal fees.

Shortly after that declaration and the district’s announced decision, Thomas’ middle son changed his story in a statement to media to say that he lied about Arax using the racial slur.