Terry Slatic files damage claim against Fresno Unified — another demand to lift his censure

Trustee Terry Slatic has filed a formal claim for damages against the Fresno Unified School District, a move he described as a last-ditch effort to avoid a lawsuit and force the district to eliminate terms of his censure.

The board unanimously voted to censure Slatic in August following multiple controversial incidents on Bullard High School’s campus. Investigations into those incidents concluded that Slatic violated board policies, including failing to “govern responsibly” and blurring the distinctions between board and staff roles.

The censure prohibits Slatic from attending internal staff meetings and requires him to notify school administrators before visiting a campus. If Slatic does go to a school in the district, he needs to be with a chaperon.

The censure also removes Slatic from leadership and committee roles until he takes anger management classes. Slatic has continued to say that he won’t be attending anger management classes and only a judge can order him to.

Slatic’s claim, filed Wednesday, describes the censure as “deeply flawed both legally and factually.” In an interview this week with The Bee, Slatic said he expects to take the fight to court.

“I expect absolutely nothing from the district,” he said. “My attorney is an extremely experienced litigator and he believes that the attorney needs to have exhausted every possible mechanism to informally resolve things before taking up time of the court and judge.”

In his claim, Slatic argues the board sought to “disenfranchise” his constituents. Slatic has said the restrictions prohibit him from performing his duties as an elected official.

Last month Slatic asked the board to consider lifting his censure but nobody budged.

Trustee Claudia Cazares said until she sees “any change in conduct or even an ability to accept that your actions have caused people some angst, have caused people to be scared of you, myself included, you may not see your actions that way but that’s how you make other people feel.”

Slatic hasn’t done anything to show he’s become a better administrator “in my opinion,” Trustee Keshia Thomas said during the meeting, noting he hasn’t gone to anger management. She argued the board hasn’t done anything illegal.

The four community members who spoke during public comment all said Slatic’s censure shouldn’t be lifted. No community members at the meeting spoke in defense of Slatic.

There is also an effort to recall Slatic underway.

Fresno Unified has spent more than $100,000 paying for investigations into Slatic’s conduct in the last year he’s been elected to the board.

A report released in July found Slatic violated three board policies after he threatened an Army recruiter on campus. The retired Marine major was also scrutinized after he arrived uninvited to a Bullard High cheerleading practice following the blackface incident, where he threatened to kick kids off the team if they kept bringing it up.

A Bullard High cheerleader posted a video and photo to social media wearing blackface. In the video, the student said: “Who said I can’t say n --?”

Slatic also had a confrontation with Bullard High wrestling coaches. Slatic demanded the coaches stop having a joint wrestling practice with Clovis East High School. During the exchange in February, Slatic became “volatile” after the coaches wouldn’t meet his demands, according to a report.

A video was also released in January that shows Slatic grabbing and pulling a student’s backpack after that student attempted to walk away from him.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 7:00 AM.