Tensions mount at Fresno Unified school board meeting. ‘We’re coming after you’
Metal detectors and a beefed-up police presence during Wednesday’s Fresno Unified School Board meeting didn’t appear to discourage residents from speaking out.
Not a seat was empty.
Despite the public comment being moved from the front of the meeting to the end, nearly two dozen people addressed the school board. Each speaker was allowed two minutes instead of three. Additionally, the portion of the meeting dedicated to communications to and from trustees and the superintendent in open session was eliminated.
The meeting changes and extra security came in response to the chaos and shouting that abruptly ended the board’s Feb. 2 meeting.
Trustee Terry Slatic, who criticized the changes previously, made a motion early Wednesday to put board/superintendent communications back on the agenda, but the effort failed in a 3-3 tie.
Slatic voted in favor of re-adding the agenda item and was joined by Trustees Keshia Thomas and Valerie Davis. Board President Elizabeth Jonasson-Rosas voted against the motion along with Trustees Claudia Cazares and Veva Islas.
Over the next three hours, the six school board members found enough accord to get some business done. The board made it through all of its agenda Wednesday.
The trustees began a discussion of the district’s new Public Labor Agreement, which included Cazares requesting a data collection scheme about the residency of the district’s trade union workers.
The board also discussed a high school curriculum in partnership with local unions to fast-track its students into apprenticeship programs in the trades industry. Thomas said she was concerned that not enough African American students in the district knew about these opportunities.
Public comment
While Wednesday’s meeting saw little of the fireworks that drove the Feb. 2 debacle, none of the 21 speakers were shy about their antagonism toward the school board.
Some remained angry at Islas over a tweet that critics said mocked infertility and those opposed to COVID-19 vaccinations.
“One of you decided to post something that was without grace, without kindness, on Twitter,” one speaker said Wednesday. “It was a terrible example to the kids and ought to remind every one of you: you’re an example for every one of the kids.”
Islas has said her tweet has been intentionally misconstrued by her critics.
Most speakers slammed the district over COVID-19 mask mandates and looming state requirements for student vaccinations.
Griffin Duncan, a ninth-grader at Edison Computech, told the board that the district’s response to the pandemic had watered down educational standards. He said all his Spanish classmates were guaranteed at least a C grade.
He said he doubted whether the coronavirus cases reported on campus were a fact. “I’ve never personally been connected with one of these cases. So it makes me wonder, are they real?” he said.
One woman challenged the board to “wake up.”
“Why? Because we’re coming after you,” she said. “We the people know our rights, and you need to understand…you have woken the giant, and we will not stand by and allow you to continue to harm our kids,” she said.
Another speaker demanded that the district end all COVID testing for staff, stop requiring students to wear masks, and close up all vaccine clinics on school campuses.
She gave the board an ultimatum: “The people are rising up …Those of you who have kept silent: now is your chance. Take a vote on this tonight to end it all in five days. The people have spoken.”
The crowd broke out in wild applause.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 12:37 AM.