It’s early, but newcomers already say they want a seat on the Fresno Unified school board

The election is nearly a year away, but newcomers already are throwing their hats into the ring to become a trustee on the Fresno Unified school board.

Four of the board’s seven positions will be open in November 2018. So far, two candidates are vying for the seat of embattled trustee Brooke Ashjian to represent the Bullard High region: former Central Unified superintendent Mike Berg and Nasreen Johnson, spokeswoman for the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.

Berg, 55, retired from the helm of Central Unified in 2015 and worked more than 20 years at Fresno Unified, overseeing facilities. Now he works part time as an education consultant, recently tasked with helping Parlier Unified after an audit found financial problems with the district.

Berg, whose wife is a Fresno Unified teacher, was rumored to be the district’s next superintendent before Bob Nelson took over earlier this year, but he says he did not apply and was only considering the interim position. “The permanent position was not on my radar,” Berg said. “There was a void and I was in a good position to be able to help, in terms of providing stabilization, but there was no long-term desire.”

Providing more opportunities for students, whether that’s career-tech courses or summer camps, is at the top of Berg’s to-do list if he’s elected, but “changing the narrative” on the board is his main priority.

“By that I mean changing the conversation to being student-centric, rather than adults talking about adult issues,” he said. “I think we should be talking about student issues.”

In recent months, the board has been dealing with criticism for not reprimanding Ashjian for his remarks about the LGBT community, which sparked calls for him to resign and caught the attention of the national Human Rights Campaign.

When asked about that, Berg pointed to what he says is his personal mantra: Every student counts.

“Certainly there’s been concern that there may be a bias or inequitable treatment,” Berg said. “It doesn’t matter what a child’s background is. None of those things matter. What matters is we take a child who walks into our doors and welcome them.”

Johnson, 36, worked in marketing for the agricultural industry before joining EOC, a comprehensive nonprofit that works to curb poverty in Fresno. She, too, said it’s time to move past the board’s politics.

“Fresno Unified has great diversity in its student population, and every student should feel welcomed and safe on our campuses,” she said. “As far as some of the stuff that’s swirling around, I just want the focus of the board to be on educating our students and providing a good quality public education.”

Johnson’s focus includes fiscal responsibility and campus safety. She describes herself as an “avid community volunteer,” and is involved in a slew of organizations, having attended meetings for the Human Rights Coalition of the Central Valley and Go Public Fresno Schools, as well as Fresno Unified school board meetings. She’s passed that passion for community engagement on to her daughter, who, at age 11, held a rally for equality in Fresno earlier this year after attending the Women’s March in Sacramento alongside Johnson.

“Sometimes big decisions happen and they are influenced by a really small group of people. I think it takes people willing to step up and become elected to these positions so that we can shape the future of our community,” Johnson said. “I have a vested interest in the work Fresno Unified does because I have students there, but I think the whole community has a vested interest in the success of Fresno Unified. Education really impacts us. Those students grow up to be our neighbors and employees and citizens.”

Others interested

Two others have filed candidacy paperwork for spots on the board.

Va Her, a father of six Fresno Unified students who works for the Veterans Affairs Central California Health Care System, is running for trustee Christopher De La Cerda’s seat to represent the McLane High area.

Her, a reserve member of the California Air National Guard who helps plan Fresno’s Hmong New Year festival, says he will focus on special education and teacher issues.

“You need to be a champion for the staff instead of being political or doing things for yourself,” he said. “It’s really about the students, and if I don’t take care of the staff, the staff can’t take of my students.”

Her is coming for the seat from the view of a nonpolitician.

“I don’t have any special background. I’m not interested in any other public office,” he said. “I’m just a concerned parent. That’s going to be my platform.”

Robert Fuentes, a civil rights attorney, is running for trustee Cal Johnson’s spot to represent the Edison High region.

Fuentes, 32, is a graduate of the Ivy League, attending Stanford University, Harvard University and Yale Law School.

Born in Fresno and attending high school in Porterville, Fuentes said he’s running because he wants Fresno Unified students to have the same opportunities as he did.

“If we want to move Fresno into the future, we can’t be failing our students. And right now, too many of our students are failing,” he said. “I think with the right people in positions of authority, working together with students and their families, we can turn the trajectory of the district around.”

One of his main aims, if elected, will be not only student achievement, but “education equity” – working to close the achievement gap among students of color and disadvantaged youth.

“I think if our focus is squarely on creating a learning environment that allows students to thrive, we’ll be back on the right track,” Fuentes said.

Trustee Valerie Davis’ post will also be open; no one has yet expressed interest in running against her.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "It’s early, but newcomers already say they want a seat on the Fresno Unified school board."