As community leaders gathered outside Fresno Unified headquarters and called for an expanded superintendent search, Deputy Superintendent Misty Her remained quiet.

GV Wire caught up with her momentarily Tuesday morning as she attended a Fresno Unified superintendent’s cabinet meeting. Asked about the news conference happening outside, Her had no comment, as the door shut to start the meeting.

“We’re going into a closed meeting. Thank you. Have a great day,” Her said.

A request to speak with Her made to the district’s communications department also fell on deaf ears.

Superintendent Bob Nelson plans to step down on July 31 for a job at Fresno State.

Nelson did not respond to messages left by GV Wire.

GV Wire’s Nancy Price reports that Her is the favorite among the internal candidates to become Nelson’s successor.

Related Story: Flipping the Script: Board Majority Supports Wide Search for Fresno ...

What Will Board Decide?

As Her met with the cabinet, Fresno Unified Board of Education President Susan Wittrup held a news conference, demanding that the search for Nelson’s successor be open to both internal and outside candidates.

Wittrup said that at a recent closed-session meeting of the board direction was given by a majority of trustees to interview inside candidates only.

Several other elected and community leaders also called for a broader search.

David Rivas, senior field representative for the local Carpenters Union, says many of his members send kids to Fresno Unified.

“We want to see the best for our students. And so (not) having a national search and closing that door, it just breaks the trust. It breaks the trust of the community, the residents, our members. Come on guys, we got to do better,” Rivas said.

Add SCCCD Trustee Nasreen Johnson to those calling for a broader search. She agrees that the next superintendent should have knowledge of the district and area’s culture.

“I don’t think that that necessarily should limit the search. I think that we should always look for the best, possible person to fill the job. And I think it’s important for, us not to exclude,” Johnson said.

Things may be changing. Tuesday morning, Trustee Claudia Cazares posted on Facebook that she now favors a nationwide search.

The Fresno Unified School Board will hold a special closed-session meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m.. The agenda states the board will interview superintendent candidates. None of them is identified by name on the agenda.

Dyer Minding His Own Business

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer refused to jump into the fray, when asked about the search.

“I don’t want them questioning who I appoint. I’m not going to question who they appoint,” Dyer said. “We have two council members that are doing that and community leaders, and I’ll leave it to them.”

Dyer referred to councilmembers Garry Bredefeld and Miguel Arias, who also attended the Tuesday newser.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the board direction was to hire an internal candidate only.