All but one board member gave Fresno Unified superintendent a positive evaluation
Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson again received high marks from all but one school board member in his latest performance evaluation.
The board took a vote in closed session Wednesday. Six of the seven board members voted in favor of a positive review. Trustee Terry Slatic was the lone “no” vote.
Board president Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas pointed to the superintendent’s recent efforts toward starting the district’s new, multi-million-dollar Foundation and the cabinet of staff he’s assembled as reasons for her continued faith in his leadership.
“Of course, we all know that at current, there’s a lot of a lot of progress that we need to make,” she told the Ed Lab. “But I think we are at a point where we have the right people in the right places and the resources to to make it happen.”
Slatic, who’s currently running for re-election in his Bullard-area district, disagreed. He said Nelson lacked a “sense of urgency” over the state of academics in the district and is failing to be a “good steward.”
One of Slatic’s lengthiest critiques alluded to Assembly Bill 104, which gives families of students who were in kindergarten through eleventh grade in the 2020-21 school year the option to request their student repeat a year of school if they received “deficient grades.” He wrote that Nelson failed to brief principals and hence families on this measure.
“This is a catastrophic failure by Superintendent Nelson,” Slatic said, “and shows that he will place his personal biases above both the law and the good of the individual student.”
In an emailed statement, Nelson didn’t respond to any particular claim from Slatic, but instead thanked a majority of the board for valuing his efforts over the past six years as superintendent.
“In California, the average tenure of Superintendents of the 10 largest school districts is just 2.8 years, with four of those districts either having an interim or new Superintendent this calendar year,” he said. “I am grateful for the stability we are providing for our students, families and staff, and grateful to continue to serve the students and families of our Fresno community.”
Nelson has received multiple positive reviews from a majority of board members in his time as superintendent — and consistent pushback from Slatic.
The trustee also cast the lone “no” vote in Nelson’s positive evaluation given in November 2021.
Slatic and others have also been critical of student test scores under Nelson’s tenure. The latest batch, which were the statewide Smarter Balanced assessments, showed that a little under a third of the district’s students met or exceeded the standard for English language arts. Math scores were even poorer, with only 21% of students meeting the standard.
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.
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 10:26 AM.
