I remember it like yesterday: Thanksgiving, 1982, and my maternal grandfather raising a glass to honor “Duke,” George Deukmejian, California’s newly elected Armenian governor. Then, in 1986, glasses were raised in South Africa as Deukmejian directed California to reallocate its investments from South Africa due to its oppressive Apartheid system....
Poor Performing Fresno Unified Has Some Nerve Asking Us to Take on $1 Billion in New Taxes
While six of the seven Fresno Unified School Board trustees try to put a happy face on the district's new $500 million Measure H bond, voters deserve the ugly truth behind the facade. For starters, what's advertised as a $500 million bond will cost property owners more than $1 billion...
I Have No Confidence in FUSD’s Measure H Projects List: Trustee Candidate Villa
As an advocate for education, I often encounter reports containing skewed, omitted, or misrepresented data to support specific outcomes. This is why due diligence — examining protocols, correspondence, and raw data — is critical in evaluating decisions that impact our students. When data and recommendations don’t align, an independent evaluation...
A Tale of Two Districts: Why I’m Backing Clovis School Bond Measure, but Not Fresno’s
Fresno Unified School District's proposed 2024 bond measure H for $500 million is a misguided and poorly timed initiative that I cannot support. This 40-year bond would impose the highest tax increase among any school district in Fresno County, raising the rate to $238.86 per $100,000 of assessed property value....
I’m Opposing $500 Million Measure H, and You Should, Too: Fresno Unified Board President
I urge you to vote NO on Measure H, the 40-year, $500 million Fresno Unified construction bond on the Nov. 5 ballot. As a school board trustee, I don’t make the recommendation lightly because I recognize that our schools are aging and dilapidated, and we will need a bond measure passed...
Presidential Debate Made Clear Harris Will Help Californians Reach the Middle Class
Hours before last week's presidential debate, new data from the U.S. Census confirmed what many of us had suspected: California's poverty rate remained the highest of any state, increasing in 2023 to 18.9% from 16.4% in 2022. In an election cycle that has seen issues surrounding economic mobility too often...
FDIC’s Proposed Changes Would Undermine Farms, Businesses, and Nation’s Food Supply
When most people think of California, images of sun-soaked beaches, bustling cities, and tech giants in Silicon Valley often come to mind. However, California is much more than that. It’s a pillar of the nation’s agriculture industry and a vital force that supplies over a third of the country’s vegetables...
Fresno Unified Must Address Glaring Achievement Gaps Among Latino Students
Fresno faces a critical challenge in its educational landscape. As part of a community research project for the HOPE Leadership Institute, our team of Central Valley residents delved into the academic performance of Latino K-12 students in Fresno, revealing troubling disparities in mathematics achievement. What we found were significant achievement...
Fresno Unified’s Credit Recovery Tool Is Roadbock to Real Learning
When students get their high school diplomas, you assume that they’ve all met key standards in all requisite areas. You suppose that they’ve all made the grade. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been the case during the past decade or so in Fresno Unified. It all ties in with a program...
California Needs Autonomous Trucks. Tell the Legislature Not to Ban Them.
California’s Central Valley fuels the engine that is America’s agricultural sector. Without our farmers’ output, the industry would be driving ahead on half a tank in the U.S. Why? Because our region grows more than 250 different crops, and more importantly, we produce 25% of the nation’s food supply. To...