Another Fresno school district is looking for a new superintendent. Why?
Central Unified has joined the list of Central Valley school districts searching for a new superintendent.
The district’s governing board voted unanimously in the closed session Tuesday night to place Superintendent Ketti Davis on administrative leave, effective immediately.
“The Board is pleased that an amicable separation agreement has been reached with the superintendent, and which honors the terms of the employment agreement while providing the District with the ability to move forward,” according to a district statement.
The board will appoint an interim superintendent to lead the district while conducting a superintendent search. The goal is to hire a new superintendent by the next school year.
Tami Boatright, the district’s assistant superintendent of educational services, will serve as the administrator in charge until the interim is selected, according to the district.
Trustees declined to comment on Davis’ ouster, citing it was a personnel matter.
“Serving as superintendent has been one of the greatest honors of my career, and I am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished together,” Davis said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to the Central Unified community and our dedicated team for their unwavering support, passion, and commitment to our students.”
Davis said she planned to pursue “new opportunities.”
“Over the past 27 years — nearly four of them as superintendent, including one as interim — I have had the privilege of witnessing the incredible growth and resilience of our district,” Davis said.
Davis started her career as a teacher at Central Unified’s Madison Elementary School in 1992. She served as a school principal in Sanger Unified for five years before returning to Central Unified, Davis headed the educational services department and served as interim superintendent before stepping into the full-time position in May 2022, according to the district website.
Located in southwest Fresno, Central Unified is the third-largest school district in Fresno County with more than 16,000 students. The district has grown significantly in recent years, opening a new high school in 2021. Its newest elementary school, Jaswant Singh Khalra, which made history as the first public school in North America to be named after a person of Sikh descent. The school is set to open its doors in August.
Nearly two dozen school districts in California are actively searching for a superintendent, including the nearby Modesto City Schools and Coalinga-Huron Unified. Neighboring Fresno Unified, the state’s third-largest school district with 68,000 students, is entering its second year of the superintendent search. Another district in the valley, Merced City School District, hired a superintendent in June 2024 after a year-long search.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 8:27 AM.
