New principals have been named for Bullard and Edison high schools in Fresno -- but Bullard parents and the school trustee for the area aren't happy with how the selection was made.
Brian Wall -- a vice principal at Fresno High for the past year and past principal at Tranquillity High School -- was named to the top job at Edison. He replaces Rick Lopez, who has taken a job at another school on the coast.
Brian Beck, principal at Delano High School in Kern County for the past year and director of curriculum and instruction and assessment for Delano Joint Union High School District, was named Bullard's principal. He replaces Glenn Starkweather, who was named principal on special assignment with Fresno Unified on June 3.
Both hires were announced late Monday by Fresno Unified School District trustees after a special closed-door session.
Edison's principal was hired by unanimous vote among school board members present; trustee Larry Moore was absent. But trustee Michelle Asadoorian voted against hiring Beck. "My vote was a reflection of the view of the constituent base I serve," Asadoorian said Tuesday.
She and parents are upset at what they perceived was a fast-track hiring of Bullard's principal. The interviews and selection took just over three weeks.
"I didn't see a far-reaching, aggressive recruitment process," Asadoorian said.
Bullard parents said they have nothing against Beck, just the process by which he was hired. "The truth of the matter is the application process was only open for six days," said Carrie Zulewski, whose daughter attends Bullard.
The district extended the application process another week after Bullard parents complained. Parents also submitted names of several candidates they wanted considered.
Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson said he is confident in the selection process for both principals. "We were looking for the best qualified leaders and found them," he said.
Hanson acknowledges that some Bullard parents feel the process was rushed. But he said there was pressure to hire new employees before the start of the new fiscal year July 1, when most new contracts go into effect.
Fresno Unified advertised the Edison job nationally earlier this year, but Hanson said there were no nonlocal candidates. In the spring, he said, both the Bullard and Edison positions were advertised statewide, and most candidates came from the central San Joaquin Valley.
Bullard parents have complained that Fresno Unified has continually put the school -- located in the affluent Fig Garden area -- on the back burner. They say the once-prized school has suffered academically in recent years because of district neglect.
Beck, who is 38, said he trusts the hiring process was a fair one. He said he is excited to be part of the Bullard community. Beck's wife Rhonda is a 1989 Bullard graduate who grew up in the neighborhood.
"I'm looking forward to making the school everything it should be," he said.
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