Fresno City College’s West Campus comes with big promises to the people of southwest Fresno, from dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, to cutting-edge technical training in building electric vehicles.

But talk of these promises incited a tense back-and-forth between west Fresno residents at a community meeting Thursday night.

Will the campus live up to these promises to a community “under siege,” as community members described it, or fall prey to gentrification?

Situated on Church and Walnut avenues, the $86.5 million campus will offer proximity to higher education that southwest Fresno has never seen before, city college leaders said.

A lack of educational investments and high poverty rates plaguing the area have stymied graduation rates and pathways to college for southwest Fresno students.

That ends with the West Campus, which Fresno City College’s new president Robert Pimentel said is part of the college’s work to do “everything possible” to better serve the west Fresno community.

Pimentel and other leaders from the college unveiled targeted academic programs intended to fill gaps in west Fresno’s educational landscape. That will include dual enrollment partnerships between the West Campus and high schools in the area, including Edison, Kerman and Washington Union High School.

Leaders are eyeing a medical pathways program at Edison with medical training and coursework at the West Campus.

“It’s the transitions between institutions,” said Emily Berg, Fresno City College’s director of dual enrollment, “where we lose the largest number of students. When they go from junior high to high school, high school to college.”

Also included in the 40-acre campus is an Automotive Technology Center, part of the the new campus’ offerings in vocational training. The center will have electric and hybrid vehicle curriculum to ensure students are well-versed in the latest technology.

Longtime Fresno residents differed, however, on whether these offerings will translate to opportunities for their children and grandchildren in west Fresno.

One resident voiced concerns that an $86.5 million-project could be the first step in the gentrification of the neighborhood.

“They’re getting ready to put $300,000 to $400,000 next to that college ... They’re going to end up forcing (current residents) out of the community,” said one resident at the meeting. “This college is not for us.”

Another speaker echoed these concerns about who the college would ultimately serve, especially with the low high school graduation rates in the area barring students from ever enrolling at the campus in the first place.

Other community members countered, however, that that’s the exact reason the community pushed for the campus to be built in west Fresno.

“We would not have wanted it here if we didn’t think that it was going to suffice,” said west Fresno resident Chalise Mitchell in an interview after the meeting.

“When you see something good and positive in your neighborhood, you want to be a part of it,” said June Stanfield, a fellow west Fresno resident, after the event.

The meeting raised additional questions of accessing the campus itself. Gloria Hernandez, an activist in the city, said that her daughter had to walk long distances to Fresno City College’s current campus from central Fresno.

Busing has been an issue for Fresno City College previously. In 2020, the college’s free bus pass program — which many students depended on to get to classes — was in jeopardy.

Fresno City College leaders are working to secure reduced rates for their students in time for the spring 2023 semester.

Carole Goldsmith, chancellor of the State Center Community College District, told the Ed Lab in an email Friday that Fresno City College leaders have negotiated reduced rates for students to use city buses: bringing the price per ride down from $1.10 0.75 cents and the monthly rate down from $48 to $22.

At the district’s next board meeting, Goldsmith said, college leaders will recommend trustees renew the college’s agreement with City of Fresno Transit Services.

Pimentel said Thursday that his team is in talks with the city of Fresno about ensuring there are adequate bus routes to the West Campus as well.

Fresno City College has at least several months to get these issues sorted out, with the West Campus academic building slated for opening next spring and the whole campus set to be fully operational by spring 2024. The project is currently behind schedule due to delays from Pacific Gas & Electric, as well as the pandemic.

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. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.

Julianna Morano

The Fresno Bee

Julianna Morano covers early and K-12 education for The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab. Born and raised in Michigan, she attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Previously, she worked as a features intern at The Dallas Morning News and an education and breaking news intern at The Virginian-Pilot.