Fresno Unified will dip into its reserve funds to try to alleviate crowding in some classrooms by hiring additional teachers.

The FUSD board decided Wednesday night to draw from the district's $62.2 million cash reserves to pay for additional teachers at 19 elementary schools and four high schools where there are a large number of classes with more than 39 students. The plan will also beef up teacher training in middle-school math and upgrade computer systems.

Wednesday's vote came the same week that Gov. Jerry Brown announced $79.6 million in cuts to education throughout the state. Fresno Unified officials say they have enough in their reserve fund to prevent any cuts to programs this year -- but the cuts will slash district reserves by $20 million. Fresno Unified's budget this year is $584.2 million.

Deputy Superintendent Ruth Quinto said using some of the reserves for teachers is prudent, but she warned that the district will need to keep some cash in case the state budget crisis continues.

Trustee Janet Ryan praised the administration for its conservative spending at the beginning of the year.

"Fresno Unified bit the bullet and we did what we needed to do," she said.

But trustee Larry Moore said more money should go toward hiring more teachers.

"Very little of it is going to overcrowded classrooms -- and that bothers me," he said.

Fresno Teachers Association President Greg Gadams said the money should have been budgeted sooner after hundreds of teachers in the district resigned or retired at the end of the last school year, resulting in savings to the district.

"You're just putting back the money you reaped from the retirement incentive," he said.

In September, officials announced the district was in better financial shape than expected. A surge in enrollment and $4.4 million in additional state and federal funds let the district hire back teachers and build an 8.5% reserve -- more than double what the district requires.

Also Wednesday, Tony Vang was elected board chairman.

Vang is in his third term on the board and was board president in 2008. He's a vocal supporter of Superintendent Michael Hanson.

The vote was 5-2, with Moore and trustee Michele Asadoorian abstaining.

Asadoorian said the board ignored her suggestion last year that they move toward rotating leadership -- as other elected boards do -- to give everyone on the board the chance to serve.

"Choosing leadership by popular vote is very destabilizing for this body," she said.

Vang called on the board to work together with each other and the staff.

"If the boat sinks, we all sink together," he said.

Javier Guzman, director of the Chicano Youth Center, was scheduled to speak about the district's dismal dropout and truancy problems but had not spoken by press time.