Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic threatened to block a Bullard High School assistant wrestling coach from future jobs with the district during a confrontation sparked when Slatic demanded that coaches cancel a wrestling practice, according to an investigative report released Thursday. Slatic, the subject of numerous complaints that he has...
Mayor Brand: Amazon 'Put Fresno on Corporate Map'
The opening of the Amazon Fulfillment Center in southwest Fresno last year has meant much more to the city of Fresno than the addition of thousands of new jobs, Mayor Lee Brand said Wednesday at a grand opening ceremony heralding the facility. Amazon built an 850,000-square-foot, $200 million facility that...
District Probe Faults Slatic in Clash With Army Recruiter
A tense confrontation between an on-campus Army recruiter and Fresno Unified board member Terry Slatic, a retired Marine officer, was conduct unbecoming a trustee. However, Slatic's actions didn't rise to the level of racial discrimination, concludes an investigative report commissioned by the school district. An independent investigator hired by Fresno...
Slatic Defiant as Investigations into Trustee Come to Light
The results of two internal investigations into the controversial behavior of Fresno Unified trustee Terry Slatic soon will be made public, the school board's president says. Slatic, meanwhile, was defiant following a special board meeting Thursday called to consider disciplinary action against him. Asked about calls for him to resign...
Slatic's Behavior Is 'Not Acceptable,' Says Board President
The only thing that approached the heat of the special Fresno Unified school board meeting dealing with trustee Terry Slatic was the temperature outside Thursday. Nearly 30 people from the public spoke at a meeting called to discuss Slatic’s behavior at his meeting with the Bullard High School cheer team....
State Has New Anti-Bias Hair Law. Fresno Schools Say They Comply.
Holly Mitchell had a simple motivation in crafting a law to ban discrimination against natural hairstyles like hers. “Racism,” the state senator from Los Angeles said during a recent stop in Fresno. Mitchell is black, and wears her hair in braids. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Mitchell’s CROWN...
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...
Are Fresno Unified Magnet School Lotteries on the Up and Up?
Fresno Unified School District's magnet schools are some of the best anywhere. They're innovative, challenging, and staffed with top-flight teachers. In many of them, naturally, applicants exceed capacity. Thus, the district uses lotteries to determine the students getting Golden Tickets. Through the years, however, some have questioned whether high-demand schools...
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...
Fresno Unified, Teachers Agree on Historic 3-Year Contract
The Fresno Teachers Association and Fresno Unified School District have reached tentative agreement on a three-year contract that runs through June 2022. Superintendent Bob Nelson announced the agreement at Wednesday night's board of trustees meeting. Nelson: Agreement Grounded in Today's Finances "We looked through all the records going back as...