Tony Thurmond seems to be exactly the man that his most loyal backers hoped (and his opponents feared) he would be. In a discussion with CALmatters’ education reporter Ricardo Cano at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club in March, he talked about how his mother, an immigrant from Panama, died when he...
Looking For Skills in High-Demand Careers? Check Out CTEC.
There's still time for students interested in a different kind of education to enroll at CTEC — Fresno's newest high school. What Is CTEC? At the Career Technical Education Charter High School, students have the opportunity to study not only subjects like math, English, and science, but also technical courses such as...
Fresno Unified Must Make Special Ed a Priority. Not an Afterthought.
Even before Bob Nelson took over as Fresno Unified superintendent, he had to know that the district's efforts to educate students with disabilities were coming up short. The many lawsuits against the district filed by families of special education students and the voices expressing frustration at board meetings were ample...
Can New Central Superintendent Alvarado Heal the District?
Central Unified didn’t have to look far to fill its superintendent position. The school district announced the hiring of Andy Alvarado, currently the superintendent of Golden Valley Unified in Madera Ranchos. The board approved his hiring on 5-2 votes in closed and open sessions Tuesday night. Board President Cesar Granda...
The Great Fresno Cop Debate: 1,000 or 900 Officers?
When he campaigned for mayor two years ago, Lee Brand often cited 1,000 sworn officers as the goal for the Fresno Police Department. Listen to any of his recent speeches, like during a recent campaign fundraiser, and his goal remains 1,000 officers. Does Chief Jerry Dyer agree that 1,000 is...
Will New Central Unified Superintendent Be Hired Saturday?
Central Unified could hire a new superintendent as soon as Saturday (June 9). The school board will hold a special morning meeting with a sole item: discussing the superintendent in closed session. A source with knowledge of the situation tells GV Wire that approximately five candidates will be interviewed, and...
Central Unified Secrets Revealed In Superintendent Firing
The Central Unified School District board, in closed session, voted against offering a one-year contract extension to its superintendent in January. Six weeks later, the trustees fired Mark Sutton. That is just one revelation found in nearly 1,000 pages of documents the district provided in response to a California Public...
Help Us, Trump! No State Gas Tax Aid for Veterans Boulevard
Advocates for building the Veterans Boulevard interchange in northwest Fresno have suffered a $23 million setback. Staff from the California Transportation Commission did not include the project among 27 proposals recommended for a total of $308.8 million in Senate Bill 1 funding Wednesday (April 25). “We are very disappointed. We thought...
Fresno Unified Has Attendance Problem … On Bond Oversight Committee
Voters in Fresno Unified have entrusted the school board with more than a half-billion dollars in bond money. Measure Q passed in 2010 for $280 million. Measure X passed in 2016 for $225 million. Both bonds have an oversight board to make sure the construction funds are spent appropriately. The...
Fired Superintendent Sutton Thanks His Central Unified Supporters
In a meeting to decide Central Unified's interim leader, about 80 parents, teachers and students made it clear that they wanted Mark Sutton reinstated as superintendent. Eight spoke during 20 minutes of public comment, and all had a similar message: Bring back Sutton. But they also had a fallback position....