Fresno’s Central Unified schools name new acting leader following superintendent’s arrest

Central Unified schools’ Assistant Superintendent Ketti Davis will lead the district while Superintendent Andrew Alvarado remains on leave amid a criminal investigation, the CUSD school board announced Tuesday.

Alvarado, 49, was arrested June 3 at a home in northwest Fresno on suspicion of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse, the Fresno Police Department reported.

The case remains under investigation. The Madera County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether Alvarado will be charged with a crime in connection with the arrest. Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp recused herself from the case, citing unspecified personal and business ties with Alvarado.

Central Unified is also conducting its own investigation into the June 3 arrest.

Few details of the incident have been released, and school officials offered no other updates Tuesday. Police have said the 911 caller told the officers Alvarado was “pushing and throwing things,” and, police said, they “determined Mr. Alvarado had committed a felony domestic disturbance.”

Some in the community have called for Alvarado to resign or be fired, saying his leadership role in the community requires a higher standard of conduct and the arrest sends a negative message to students.

Davis has lived in the central San Joaquin Valley for 30 years and first began work at Central Unified in 1992. She’s worked in various roles in schools over the years, including teaching, and she served as a school principal in Sanger for five years, according to the Central Unified website.

This story was originally published June 22, 2021 at 10:13 PM.