Fresno Unified Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas billed the district thousands of dollars for her attendance at a water policy seminar while also serving on the management team for the nation’s largest public water district.

In 2023, Jonasson Rosas attended the Water Education for Latino Leaders summit, billing the district $3,995 for a three-part seminar discussing water policy and management. Earlier that year, she also attended the group’s annual conference in Van Nuys for $750.

In addition to her trustee duties, Jonasson Rosas works at Westlands Water District as the deputy general manager of external affairs, handling the agency’s public affairs arm.

Most attendees of the Water Education for Latino Leaders served as city councilmembers, mayors, or water officials.

A look at the conference’s attendance roster shows that until 2023, Jonasson Rosas was only one of two other attendees who came as a school board trustee, and the only one also employed by a water district. In her Westlands’ position, she earned $138,000 in 2023, according to compensation records acquired by Transparent California.

Jonasson Rosas declined to comment for the story, directing GV Wire to WELL for questions.

Related Story: Fresno Trustee Thomas Leads the Pack in Taxpayer Funded Travel to Tourist ...

Attendees Learned About LA’s Complex Water History

The first of the UnTapped Fellowship Sessions hosted by WELL brought attendees to Los Angeles, where they discussed water issues and the history of water challenges and contaminants in the  region.

Speakers from several water districts were available for interviews and attendees toured a treatment plant.

The WELL website said the group educates leaders because they can make decisions about water usage at public facilities.

The other two sessions took attendees to Owens Valley and San Diego. They received a tour of Manzanar National Historic Site — the Japanese internment camp — and discussed the controversial Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Attendees are there to learn how to shape their “public narrative,” WELL says.

“This powerful leadership skill allows Fellows the ability to hone their personal story and learn to share their values in order to inspire collective action,” the WELL website states.

Related Story: Traveling/Not Traveling on District’s Dime Merits Mentions by Fresno ...

‘If It’s Not Related to Education, the District Shouldn’t Be Spending Money on It’: Wittrup

A Fresno Unified official said the board president approves travel.

Trustee Veva Islas, who was board president at the time, said having an understanding of how water issues relate to the mostly Latino population in Jonasson Rosas’ district would help the district better serve the population.

“It seemed reasonable at the time given the reality of droughts we have experienced,” Islas said.

Board president Susan Wittrup said she only approves travel if it’s pertinent to Fresno Unified.

“If it’s not related to education, the district shouldn’t be spending on it,” Wittrup said.

In May, GV Wire examined travel expenses for trustees going back to 2021. Data from Fresno Unified showed Trustee Keshia Thomas billing nearly 33% of all travel costs made by the seven-member board in that time period. Jonasson Rosas was among the trustees who charged the least to the district.

Wittrup said travel is a way to find out about best practices.

“It’s good to keep up to date with laws and strategies for improving achievement for our students and networking with other, especially urban school districts to find out what is happening there, what’s successful around the nation,” Wittrup said.