If parents want their kids to attend Fresno Unified School District's online school for the new school year, they will need to opt in by July 31, Superintendent Bob Nelson said Thursday. Parents who don't reserve a seat for their kids for the eLearn Academy online school will presumably be choosing...
Teachers Union: FUSD Should Protect Health Fund in 2020-21 Budget
The Fresno Teachers Association says Fresno Unified School District's proposals to balance the 2020-21 budget could result in higher healthcare costs for employees and will reassign teachers from much-needed special assignment roles. In addition, the FTA says the district should dip into its substantial "rainy day" reserves fund to make...
FUSD Trustee: ‘Bare Minimum’ of Distance Learning Isn’t Enough
Fresno Unified trustee Claudia Cazares says teachers who have been doing the "bare minimum" as negotiated in the distance learning contract amendment need to do more teaching for their students. "Students are not being taught. They're being given a list of homework scheduled for the week, and then there is...
Fresno Teachers Handing Out Meals Tonight at Addams Elementary
Dinner tonight for 500 families living near Addams Elementary is being hosted by the Fresno Teachers Association, in conjunction with Live Again Fresno and Quesadilla Gorilla. The free grab-and-go meals prepared by Quesadilla Gorilla will be handed out starting at 5 p.m. at the school, 2117 W. McKinley Ave., in...
Fresno Teachers Get Their Groove on to Raise Funds for Food
The Fresno Teachers Association has a rock 'n roll solution for several conundrums: How to raise money to help feed people and support local restaurants during the COVID-19 outbreak, and what are we going to do for entertainment on Saturday night since we can't leave our houses? FTA is hosting...
Fresno Teachers Union Grievance Has Potential $150M Price Tag
Fresno Unified's teachers' union says the district has violated its contract by improperly spending millions of dollars — perhaps as much as $150 million over the past three years — to cover retirees' healthcare costs with money that's supposed to be spent only on active employees. Fresno Teachers Association President...
Class Assignment Creates Uproar in FTA, Black Community
A classroom assignment connected with a novel by acclaimed author Zora Neale Hurston has embroiled Fresno Unified School District in another race-related controversy. This time the district is in the crosshairs of both the teachers union and members of the black community. Black activists say the assignment, given by a...
Fresno Unified Board to Superintendent: Good Job!
The Fresno Unified School District board voted 7-0 on Wednesday to approve a positive job evaluation for Superintendent Bob Nelson, now in his third year at the helm of California's third-largest school district. The board's vote, which was taken in closed session, was announced early in the meeting's open session...
Fresno Teachers Get a Do-Over Vote On Union Fee Proposal
A plan by the Fresno Unified teachers union to charge members an extra $5 monthly to bankroll a new union-run foundation will be up for a revote this month after a legal challenge by dissident members put the plan on hold. The Fresno Teachers Association was ready to start collecting...
Finally, Fresno Unified's Trajectory Is Pointing Up
After 43 years of bare-knuckled brawling, the leaders of Fresno Unified and its teachers union tried something different in hope of getting a better result. It worked. And that's good news for the district's students, families, and teachers. It's good news, too, for Fresno. Few would disagree our city's future...