Fresno City Councilmember says school district’s reopening plan ‘stale,’ needs revise

Fresno Unified’s plan to get its 73,000 students back into classrooms has gone “stale” and must be urgently revised to happen faster, City Councilmember Miguel Arias said during a Friday news conference.

“It’s time to take that stale plan, revise it and put in-person instruction back on the table for our families because, without it, we are simply guaranteeing that this pandemic will have decades of impact to our city,” he said.

Arias, who served as the district’s spokesperson for 11 years prior to his taking a seat on the Fresno City Council in 2019, said he’s not trying to put “political pressure” on the district but instead to share his platform with concerned parents over the current school reopening plan.

“I know Fresno Unified has had virtual meetings for a year now, and it’s difficult to have live feedback from parents, so I wanted to give the parents of Fresno Unified an opportunity and a platform for you to hear directly from them on some of their struggles,” Arias said.

FUSD plans to continue distance learning until COVD-19 cases in Fresno lower to 1-3.9 cases per 100,000 people, thus putting Fresno in the orange tier of the state’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.”

As of Tuesday, Fresno has 6.6 cases per 100,000 inching the county closer into the red tier.

District calls news conference ‘peculiar’

The Friday news conference caused “whiplash” to FUSD officials who said Arias has a previously scheduled meeting on Monday with Superintendent Bob Nelson and his requests “have been underway for some time.”

“Councilmember Arias has always had a direct line of communication and collaboration with our district as a parent, a former executive staff member, and as a councilmember, so it’s a bit peculiar to see he felt he needed a press conference to work with us,” district spokeswoman Nikki Henry said.

Henry added that FUSD and its teachers union are close to agreement on a reopening plan.

Earlier this month, Councilmember Garry Bredefeld took to social media and threatened to sue the district over its school reopening plan. The announcement caused a buzz on Twitter, with some saying politicians were politicizing the issue.

Arias said he was not politicizing school reopenings.

“I think politicizing would be standing here with 10 other politicians who agree with me. I’m here as a parent of two kids of Fresno Unified, and I’m intentionally not having a political rally and asking for recalls or lawsuits. I’m simply giving parents a platform that they haven’t had,” Arias said.

Of the handful of parents present, one spoke at the news conference.

“I’m here to draw attention to reopening our schools. I feel our children deserve it. Teachers and educators, we are essential friendly workers. In addition to being a parent, I am also a teacher for Fresno Unified, so I see the struggles,” Mia Zavorek said.

An evolving reopening plan

Arias contends that the ongoing negotiations between the Fresno Teachers Association and FUSD are why schools can’t reopen sooner. The current hybrid plan of returning to school four hours a week is not a “proper reopening plan.” Arias said he has faith the district has the resources and capacity to bring more kids on campus.

“Two hours a day, two days a week of in-person learning is not what our kids need, nor is it what they deserve,” Arias said.

Although Arias supports a more comprehensive plan for in-person instruction for those who would like to go back, he also said “no one should be forced to go back to the classroom.”

According to district officials, negotiations between the Teachers Association for school reopenings are evolving.

“We have never stepped away from the bargaining table and, in fact, are negotiating in live time and approaching a potential agreement with our labor partners in these areas,” Henry said.

Over the past couple of weeks, FUSD has been fortified with new safety mitigations, including widespread vaccines and the approval of a pilot testing plan with United Health Centers. The previous agreement was approved in October when mitigations did not exist as they do now.

The Fresno County Health Department is setting aside at least 40,000 vaccinations for educators, earmarking many for FUSD employees as well as other large districts in the county.

The district also approved a “pricey” pilot program to do widespread COVID-19 testing for FUSD teachers and staff. The tests currently cost $150 per test.

During the Feb. 18 school board meeting, trustees asked for a comprehensive testing plan with multiple pricing options to have tests widely available for all teachers and staff.

Testing on school campuses has already begun as the district works to bring small cohorts of K-6 students to on-campus learning.

Between now and March 8, FUSD expects to bring over 10,000 students to on-campus hybrid learning.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab here.

This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 5:18 PM.