Fresno Unified's proposal to bulk up the number of managers and support staff for special education met with sharp criticism Wednesday from trustees who raised a series of questions, including: Why Dr. Tangee Pinheiro's role would be expanded from instructional superintendent for special education, a job she has held since...
State Supreme Court Rules Against FUSD, Harris Construction on School Building Contract
The nearly 11-year-old case involving Fresno Unified's use of a "lease-leaseback" agreement with Harris Construction to build Gaston Middle School might be nearing the finish line after the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the school district and Harris on Thursday. The court upheld a November 2020 Fifth District Court...
Fresno School Board Inks Contract with SEIU. Teachers Unhappy with Their Contract Talks.
The Fresno Unified School Board needed no discussion and mere minutes Wednesday night to approve a new three-year contract with the Service Employees International Union that represents the district's "blue collar" workers. Meanwhile, teachers whose union also is negotiating a new contract had spent 45 minutes earlier Wednesday telling the...
How Long Has This Fresno High Stairwell Been Known As the ‘Baby-Making Area’?
It seems that most people at Fresno High School know that a certain stairwell at the school is a locus for bad behavior, including the recent explosion of a "large firecracker" that injured a teacher and several students and frightened others. The explosion came only days after a phoned bomb...
Parent: FUSD Labor Agreement Held Kids ‘Hostage’ on Late School Buses
Fresno Unified's labor agreement with the Service Employees Industries Union Local 521 was among the reasons why school buses were making hundreds of students tardy by as much as 40 minutes, district spokeswoman Nikki Henry said Monday. Parent Chris Dowdy, whose seventh-grader son was arriving late so often that it...
Why Is Fresno Unified Serving Frozen School Lunches?
The Fresno Unified School Board learned Wednesday about plans to hire new executive chefs to make meals more appetizing for students, ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of food that students toss into trash cans, the adoption of compostable lunch trays that also reduce the waste stream, and the potential...
School Lunches Are No. 1 Gripe for Fresno Students and Parents. Board Workshop is Wednesday.
When the Fresno Unified School District recently held listening sessions with students, parents, and teachers about their top concerns, there was a clear consensus among students and parents that school lunches are a big problem. "Better food for lunch" was the No. 1 theme for pretty much all student groups,...
Despite Wawona’s Crisis, 2 Fresno Trustees Opposed Contract with Sheriff’s Office
About an hour after a handful of teachers from Wawona Middle School had described, emotionally and in great detail, the disturbing and dangerous situations they say are constantly occurring at their school, the Fresno Unified School Board considered whether to sign a contract with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office for...
‘We Are in Crisis’: Fresno School Staffers Detail Student Violence, Lack of Consequences
Teachers and a parent described to the Fresno Unified School Board on Wednesday night a troubling scenario on a district campus where students are out of control and face no consequences for violence, profane language, and other forms of misbehavior. Leanna Bromley, who is in her first year at Wawona...
New Fresno Trustee Plans to Hit the Ground Running with ‘School Walks’
Newly elected Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup will be sworn into office before Wednesday's board meeting, but she's already been working on a detailed plan to focus on needed instructional and facilities improvements for students and schools in the Bullard region, and to connect regularly with schools' parent leaders. That...