Bullard High-area parents who say they are tired of Fresno Unified School District's failure to deliver on promises plan to address trustees at Wednesday night's school board meeting.

"I think we need to bring a sense of urgency," said John Trenberth, a Fresno businessman who has been asked to speak for the community by Reform Fresno Unified/Northwest Branch. "I'm very concerned about the future of Fresno based on the educational system."

Parents and community members who are part of Reform Fresno Unified/Northwest Branch say the district promised to strengthen neighborhood schools, create gifted and talented programs and support a dress code. Failure on those fronts has caused northwest Fresno schools to deteriorate, says the group, whose core proposed splitting the district in 2011 over similar concerns.

Many of their issues -- especially student safety -- are addressed in a video posted last month on YouTube titled "The Downfall of Bullard High.".

But school officials have disputed Reform Fresno Unified's claims, and getting support from a majority of trustees could be difficult.

Board President Valerie Davis, Carol Mills and Janet Ryan responded to the group's claims in an opinion piece in Wednesday's Bee. Trustee Cal Johnson said Monday what was written conveyed his opinion as well.

On Monday, Davis said in an interview that she was not aware of any broken promises to the Bullard area and that false information has been distributed to northwest residents. "If (the claims) were true, I'd have some concerns, but there's a lot of misinformation, a lot of stuff taken out of context there."

Reform Fresno Unified organizers said they stand by their statements.

"We have people who are saying, 'You guys are nuts. You guys are liars,' " said Chuck Manock, a Fresno attorney and member of Reform Fresno Unified. But 500 people attended a Bullard meeting on Jan. 22 with concerns, and that should be an indication of problems, he said. "We're not making this up -- and there's proof of that."

Comparing data supplied by the district and by Reform Fresno Unified can be difficult. For example, both have different numbers for class sizes at Bullard High.

The school district lists Bullard's average class size as 33, not including physical education, band and art classes. And as of Jan. 18, only seven out of 470 classes had more than 40 students, again not including physical education, band and art classes.

In a message to northwest Fresno residents and business owners, Reform Fresno Unified said 85 classes are at capacity with 37 students and 43 classes are at overload, with more than 37 students. In Advanced Placement psychology classes, for example, the average class is 41 students, it said.

Reform Fresno Unified organizers said overcrowding has led to increased violence on the Bullard campus. In 2010-11, 28 students were injured, and 82 were hurt the following year, it said. Seventy students were cited for "defiance and disruption" and "obscene acts or profanity" in 2010-11, and that number increased to 325 in 2011-12, they said.

Bullard parent Eric McCormick said he yanked his son, a senior, out of a class that was overcrowded because discipline "was so out of control that the teacher was never able to teach."

The school district needs to address its suspension and expulsion policy, McCormick said. Expelled students are shuffled from high school to high school within the district. "This is not just a Bullard High School problem, but a district problem, but it's having a huge impact on Bullard right now," he said.