Carole Goldsmith’s announcement last week that she will retire as chancellor of State Center Community College District — a job she has held since January 2022 — came the same day that State Center faculty members held a no-confidence vote on her.

This week the union announced the results of that vote and took it a step further, calling for Goldsmith to immediately step down. They cited what they say is a culture of retaliation and higher legal costs during Goldsmith’s tenure as well as questions raised about a potential conflict of interest in a contract award to a woman Goldsmith has called her “goddaughter” in social media posts.

Which leads to the question: Did Goldsmith jump, or was she pushed?

A district official who asked for anonymity tells School Zone that Goldsmith’s decision was due to personal and family factors and not because of pressure from unions or the blog, SCCCD Insiders. which has been posting a series of anonymously penned articles about Goldsmith and other State Center officials since October 2024.

But Goldsmith, who was surrounded by current and former State Center trustees and other educational leaders at the news conference where she announced her retirement, might also have been seeing some handwriting on the wall. Trustees are feeling pressure not just from the teachers union but also other unions, and that pressure can weigh more heavily when they’re running for board re-election or other elective offices.

In Fresno, union support for education candidates is important but doesn’t always guarantee a win (School Zone is looking at you, Pablo Villagrana).

The State Center Federation of Teachers made no bones about linking their no-confidence vote announcement to their ongoing contract negotiations.

“Despite these tensions (the no-confidence vote and calling for Goldsmith’s immediate removal), the faculty union’s negotiation team still plans to meet again with the district at the negotiation table, in good faith, on Friday, November 21,” the union press release reported.

The no-confidence vote, which was approved by less than a quarter of the faculty, is out of the union playbook and likely will be followed by a no-confidence vote on some or all of the trustees, the State Center official said.

The union seems pretty eager for Goldsmith to go. Union President Keith Ford was quoted in The Fresno Bee as suggesting that the district would be better off canning Goldsmith immediately and paying her severance instead of waiting for her to retire in 10 months.

Based on Goldsmith’s current contract, 18 months of “go-away” pay would total more than half a million dollars ($589,401.45, to be exact), and probably more for benefits.

The teachers’ union is hosting a City-Wide Town Hall on Higher Education starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 9 in room 251 of the Old Administration Building at Fresno City College.

That’s your chance, Fresno, to let the union know whether you think spending more than half a million dollars to give Goldsmith the boot is a good idea or not.

Every Scholarship Is a Blessing

School Zone remembers how, more than a half century ago, her college hopes would have been dashed if she had not been the recipient of several scholarships. Unlike her dad, she didn’t win a trumpet scholarship to Gonzaga University, so she was glad to get scholarships that she combined with loans and a work-study job to shoulder her collegiate costs. (It goes without saying that all her textbooks had “used” stickers on them.)

That being said — the cockles of School Zone’s heart (and where exactly in that organ would one find the cockles?) are always warmed by the news of new scholarships for deserving students, such as the recent announcement by Fresno State of the Roberta Trogman Kuhlman and William B. Kuhlman Jr. Family Scholarship.

Roberta Trogman Kuhlman was a Fresno State business administration graduate who saw firsthand as a development director for the University of California, Davis and Loyola Marymount University how scholarships can be life-changing.

The new Kuhlman Scholarship is awarded to students majoring in biz administration or economics. having a minimum 3.2 GPA and demonstrating financial need.

The first recipient is William Prim, a senior majoring in business administration with an option in data analytics. Prim also is the recipient of a Craig School of Business Honors Scholarship.

West Side Gets Expanded Access to Degree Programs

West Hills College students attending the Firebaugh Center on the Valley’s west side soon won’t have to travel to Fresno for upper division classes.

The West Hills College/Coalinga College-Firebaugh Center is recruiting students for a partnership bachelor’s degree program with Fresno Pacific University.

Students who complete their associate’s degree can take Fresno Pacific classes in the Firebaugh Center. Fresno Pacific is offering a 10% tuition discount for students who enroll in the new program, which starts in spring 2026.

They will be able to sign up for two degree programs: A Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts that prepares them to become elementary school teachers, and a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood development.

Students will meet one night a week in groups known as “cohorts” that stay together throughout the program for mutual learning and support. The program also includes blended and online offerings.

It marks the latest degree partnership program for Fresno Pacific, which already has partnerships with Reedley College and California Health Sciences University.

Congrats!

School Zone has always been impressed by how many of University High School’s students land at the nation’s top colleges, as well as the school’s apparent lock on the Fresno County Academic Decathlon title. So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that two of the charter school’s employees, math teacher Armando Murillo and principal Jeffie Esparza Hickman, were recently recognized by the California Charter Schools Association.

Murillo was named NorCal/Central Valley Region Teacher of the Year and Hickman one of three Leaders of the Year.

The Hart Vision Equity and Innovation Awards and Teacher of the Year awards are named after the late U.S. Sen. Gary Hart and recognize teachers, leaders, and schools demonstrating a commitment to equity, inclusion, and excellence by advocating for all students, sharing best practices, and mentoring others to strengthen the public charter school community.

University High, located on the Fresno State campus, is chartered through Fresno Unified School District.