Terry Slatic’s censure up for debate again. Here’s what Fresno Unified board will consider tonight
Fresno Unified School Board trustees will reevaluate the censure of controversial Trustee Terry Slatic and possibly extend the disciplinary action against him during a scheduled meeting Wednesday evening.
The board also is expected to ask the Fresno County Grand jury and “other appropriate regulatory agencies” to further investigate Slatic’s conduct, according to a draft resolution included with the meeting agenda.
Slatic, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, was involved in a series of incidents with Bullard High students, staff and an Army recruiter.
Many members of the public, and even fellow trustees, described his behavior as unprofessional and abusive before Slatic was censured with a 6-0 vote a year ago.
The proposed censure extension prevents Slatic from attending internal staff meetings and requires him to notify school administrators before visiting a campus throughout the district.
He also has to sign in as a visitor whenever attending a school campus and be required to have an escort.
In addition, the censure removes Slatic from committees or leadership roles as a trustee until he completes an anger management program.
Slatic has been under scrutiny for much of his time on the board. Fresno Unified has spent more than $100,000 paying for investigations into his conduct, district documents show. He was elected to a four-year term in November 2018.
Private investigators have looked into three incidents involving Slatic’s behavior at Bullard.
The completed investigations involve incidents with an Army recruiter, a wrestling coach and the time when Slatic grabbed the backpack of a Bullard student and an altercation ensued.
Since July 2019 Slatic has been embroiled in controversy surrounding his behavior at a Bullard cheer practice when he scolded certain cheerleaders over a blackface incident. A cheerleader’s family sought a restraining order against Slatic but failed to convince a judge Slatic’s behavior amounted to harassment. Slatic eventually won $1,000 from the 16-year-old girl’s family to help him recoup part of the legal fees he racked up defending himself.
How to watch, comment
Wednesday’s meeting is a video conference with the open session scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m. It can be viewed at go.fresnounified.org/ustream, on the Ustream App on Android or Apple devices, Comcast Xfinity Channel 94 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. The district has a teleconference line available, too (559-512-2623 passcode 982 851 552# or in Spanish with passcode 951 997 541#).
Comments can be made by email to publiccomment@fresnounified.org or voice message to 559-457-6222.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.