Politicians, parents blame Fresno Unified superintendent and union for keeping kids from school

Dozens of parents, teachers and students stood outside Fresno City Hall on Saturday alongside Councilman Garry Bredefeld as he called for Fresno Unified to open its doors to all children immediately — condemning the superintendent and teachers union for “a year of sheer destruction for our children.”

Bredefeld, who called for suing Fresno Unified and clashed with Superintendent Bob Nelson last month, called FUSD’s new reopening plans “smoke and mirrors.”

He accused Nelson of cutting “backroom deals” with the Fresno Teachers Association and of sending his own children to in-person schools. Bredefeld also accused the school board, save for Trustee Terry Slatic, who was present at the rally, of letting the union boss them around.

The FTA and the district recently came to an agreement that would let transitional kindergarten through second-graders return April 6, after spring break.

Older grades would be phased in after that, including a “percentage” of middle and high schoolers, with a priority going to seniors, Nelson announced at a news conference last week. Plans are contingent on Fresno County moving down to the red tier for the state’s coronavirus restrictions, which it still has not.

Classrooms would reopen under a hybrid model, where students may come for just a few hours a day, or a few days a week.

The district already has had small cohorts of its most vulnerable student populations distance-learning at all 106 of its schools, Nelsons said, and by March 8, 10,000 students will be on a campus. About 750 teachers out of about 4,000 are also back on campuses.

Bredefeld cited Centers for Disease Control studies that say in-person learning in schools has not been associated with substantial community transmission of COVID-19.

He and other politicians, including fellow Councilman Mike Karbassi, called for more answers as to when and how schools will reopen, and asked why parents weren’t having their voices heard at meetings.

“There are no specific plans for registering your children for school,” Bredefeld said. “Why haven’t you considered the adverse impacts on parents who have to work and find it difficult, if not impossible, to do a hybrid schedule for their children?”

Bredefeld vs. teachers union

Bredefeld said, during negotiations with the district, that FTA President Manuel Bonilla “clearly was in charge and no school was going to open or action be taken without his stamp of approval.”

Bonilla, in a statement to The Bee, said negotiations are necessary for the safety of everyone.

“Over 500,000 Americans have died because of this virus in the last year,” he said. “Instead of playing politics with the health and safety of our students and employees, the council member should just admit that he wants schools to ignore CDC guidelines such as mask-wearing and physical distancing, which impacts class size and instructional models.”

“Just because he wants us to disregard the health and safety of staff and students by sending teachers back without a vaccine, we will not. We will continue to work with district leadership to do what’s most responsible and sound for everyone in our district.”

At the rally, Slatic pointed at Clovis Unified, which has brought back a majority of students, and does not have a teachers union, as proof that reopening could be done faster.

He said the Clovis Unified board “made it crystal clear” to their superintendent that kids would need to return to school, and his own board has not collectively done that. A superintendent reports to the trustees, and not the other way around, he said.

“On any given day, a superintendent of a school district can show up,” he said, “and the majority of the board can say, ‘Thank you so much. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.’”

Former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry told rally-goers that his 10-year-old grandson was suffering without school. Autry said now that more is known about the virus, recommendations should change.

“I will get down on my knees right now, without knee pads on this concrete, and beg the school board, the governor, the powers that be, for God’s sake, open up the schools and let our kids get back to school,” he said. “Have the courage and integrity to change your decision and we will respect you more.”

Councilman Mike Karbassi, who represents northwest Fresno, also spoke briefly in support of reopening schools, and was heckled by a woman who was part of a group that supported keeping the Fresno High School mascot, which has been called racist and offensive by Native Americans.

“For those of us up here today,” he said, “we are hearing you, we are listening to you and we’re gonna do everything we can to make sure we open up our schools as fast as possible to get back to normal as safely as we can.”

The pressure to reopen

Calls to reopen schools have been growing as Gov. Gavin Newsom has set up $2 billion in funding for schools that districts will lose 1% of every day they are not open after April 1.

Councilmember Miguel Arias had also called on the district last month to revise its plan and bring back students sooner.

Across the nation, politicians, districts and teachers unions have been pitted against one another as the one-year anniversary of schools closing draws near.

At Saturday’s rally in Fresno, parent Monica Diaz brought with her signs made by high schoolers.

“Look what your children are speaking, look what they’re thinking,” she said as she read off the signs, many written in Spanish, such as: “Politicians, don’t let our children fall through the cracks.”

“You guys,” Diaz said, “We should be afraid about what what’s going to happen with this generation.”

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 March 6, 2021 at 3:19 PM.