Bob Nelson begins his third year as superintendent of Fresno Unified radiating his trademark optimism but with eyes wide open and hands gripping a full plate of big challenges. "This is the single greatest thing that's ever happened to me," the superintendent says about leading California's third-largest school district. "And...
Fresno Unified Board Censures Trustee Slatic, Says He Needs Anger Management Course
The Fresno Unified School Board voted 6-0 to censure trustee Terry Slatic, a rare public condemnation of a fellow elected official, and to strip him of leadership functions until he successfully completes an anger management course. The vote was met by thunderous applause from the packed audience, many carrying signs urging...
What Might Censure Mean for Fresno Trustee Slatic?
The Fresno Unified School Board will consider taking the rare step of publicly reprimanding one of their own at next Wednesday's board meeting. But there seems to be disagreement among the trustees as to exactly what impact a censure might have on trustee Terry Slatic. Slatic, who represents the Bullard...
Angry School Board Chastises Slatic Over Cheerleader Controversy
For much of Thursday night's school board special meeting, Fresno Unified trustee Terry Slatic sat at the dais, hands folded, nary an expression on his face. The meeting was called to discuss recent actions by Slatic — who has found himself embroiled in several controversies since he joined the board...
Court Denies Restraining Order Student Sought Against Slatic
Fresno Unified is holding a special board meeting tonight to discuss trustee Terry Slatic's visit with the Bullard High School cheer team last week. Among the actions the district could take against the first-year trustee is banning him from Bullard. Restraining Order Denied On Wednesday, a Fresno Superior Court judicial...
Slatic Must Shape Up or Face Getting Shipped Out
It's obvious seven months into his service on the Fresno Unified school board that Terry Slatic misunderstands his trustee duties. A trustee's biggest jobs are to set the vision for the district, keep a close watch on the budget, and oversee the superintendent. Stellar trustees support administrators, staff, and students...
Stick the Bullard Blackface Story on Your Kid's Door
There really isn’t an excuse for donning blackface and dropping N-bombs anymore. We’ve established clearly as a culture that we no longer accept that as valid humor. The day after 9/11, Joan Rivers invited a friend to dinner at “Windows on the Ground.” If I had told that joke I...
Fresno Unified Lays Out Response to Student's Racist Posts
Fresno Unified plans to double down on teaching students about the many aspects of racism and the urgent need to keep campuses safe, following an uproar over racially offensive social media posts that included a Bullard High student posing in blackface. District Superintendent Bob Nelson, standing alongside 15 people from...
Mystery of Racist Photo in Governor’s Yearbook Left Unsolved
NORFOLK, Va. — The mystery of whether Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was in the racist yearbook photo that nearly destroyed his career remains unsolved. A months-long investigation ordered up by Eastern Virginia Medical School failed to determine whether Northam is in the picture published in 1984 of a man in...
‘The View’ Host Under Fire for Use of Blackface
NEW YORK — Joy Behar and ABC were silent Thursday after an old photo resurfaced of "The View" co-host using makeup to darken her skin for a Halloween costume, the latest flashpoint in a series of blackface scandals making national headlines. The 76-year-old didn't mention the clip on Thursday's show,...