Summary of the Board of Education Meeting on September 14th, 2022

The September 14th, 2022 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of closed session:

  • The Board took action to promote May Her as Principal II at Wolters Elementary School. 

Next, Superintendent Nelson provided a brief report to the Board of Education, including:

  • Superintendent Nelson started his remarks recognizing the hoax active shooter report earlier this afternoon at Bullard High School. An external phone call was made to Fresno Police Department (PD) shortly afternoon 12pm today reporting an active shooter at Bullard High School. Superintendent detailed the events which included immediate and courageous response from our Fresno PD and our Safety and Emergency Response teams, a clearance of active danger within 8 minutes, and a lifting of the lockdown within the hour. Superintendent shared his gratitude to the Fresno PD and our Safety and Emergency Response teams for their swift response.
  • Superintendent shared that he stood alongside Chief Balderrama, District Attorney Smittcamp, and FBI partners at a press conference this afternoon. Superintendent shared that the FBI does trace these threats and false reports and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent allowable by the law. Threats and false reports will not be tolerated in our district.
  • Superintendent Nelson also recognized last week’s press conference with Fresno PD sharing an altercation between a former principal and an elementary school student. Superintendent shared some details, which can be found here, and reiterated that Fresno Unified does not tolerate this kind of conduct at any time and has no interest in retaining any employee who has engaged in such harmful behavior.
  • Superintendent also acknowledged the dynamics of race within this altercation. While there has been no information to lead us to believe this was a racially motivated altercation, we are not blind to the fact that racial dynamics are always present. We also are not blind to the fact that seeing this footage of a white principal aggressively pushing down an African American young boy is going to be triggering and potentially traumatizing, especially for our African American community.
  • Superintendent reminded our students, families, and staff who are struggling as they process the footage of this disturbing event, please reach out to our team for help. Students, please reach out to a trusted adult on campus, families please access our CareSolace supports through our website, and staff please use our EAP supports or reach out to your supervisor or HR for resources.
  • Superintendent then shared some positive information and reminders including;
    • Tickets are now on sale for the State of Education Gala on October 6th through our website at this link,
    • We are currently surveying families on crucial household and income data that determine district and school funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Families identified to complete this information will be notified in several ways, and
    • the H. Roger Tatarian Renaming Celebration last week. You can see more at this video.

Next, the Board of Education took the following action on the below consent agenda items:

  • Approved Personnel List
  • Adopted Findings of Fact and Recommendations of District Administrative Board
  • Approved Minutes from Prior Meeting
  • Approved 2022/23 Spring Release Consolidated Application to the California Department of Education
  • Approved Agreement with Aston Carter Workforce Solutions for the Development of Employee Safety Training Videos
  • Approved Agreement with Hanover Research
  • Approved Agreement between Fresno Unified School District and Kenneth N. Sawatsky
  • Approved Agreement with Performance Fact, Inc.
  • Approved Agreement with The Pi Shop Product Incubator
  • Approved Agreement between Fresno Unified School District and PPL Studio, LLC
  • Ratified Agreement with The New Teacher Project for the Good 2 Great Summer Math Academy
  • Ratified Change Orders
  • Ratified the Filing of a Notice of Completion
  • Ratified Purchase Orders from June 01, 2022 through June 30, 2022 – Primary Report
  • Ratified Purchase Orders from June 01, 2022 through June 30, 2022 – Supplemental Report

Next, the Board of Education discussed the below conference/discussion agenda items:

  • Discussed and Approved the 2021/22 Unaudited Actual Financial Report, 2021/22 Year-End Budget Revision and 2022/23 Gann Limit
  • ITEM PULLED – Opportunity for Public Disclosure and Ratification of the 2022/23 Negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement between Fresno Unified School District and California School Employees Association, Chapter 143
  • Presented and Discussed Proposed Reorganization of Human Resources

The Board of Education received the following Information or Reports:

  • Received Results of Issuance and Sale of the General Obligation Bonds, Election of 2020, (Measure M), Series B Bonds
  • Received Constituent Services Quarterly Reporting
  • Received Call for Appointments to the California School Boards Associations’ Delegate Assembly

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education will be on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. Complete minutes and agendas are available online at board.fresnounified.org.

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