Fresno Unified board took second vote on SEDA. Trustee flipped at the last minute
The Fresno Unified School Board voted to oppose the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan on Wednesday by a narrow margin, reasoning that project could pull away students and funding.
The mega-development plan backed by Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, with an estimated price tag of $4.3 billion, aims to build 45,000 homes on 9,000 acres in southeast Fresno. It is expected to worsen Fresno Unified’s declining enrollment as the new housing developments would fall within Clovis Unified and Sanger Unified’s attendance boundaries.
By taking a public stance to oppose SEDA, the school board allows the district superintendent to actively participate in SEDA’s public process, such as voicing opposition to various agencies and urging the city to revise the plan. Four of the seven board members voted to support the resolution, and the other three trustees took abstentions, citing the conflict of interest and that the item is beyond the school board’s jurisdiction.
It was the second time that the Fresno Unified board voted on this item. In February, when the resolution first appeared on the agenda, four trustees chose to table the item, reasoning that taking a position on a city’s development plan fell outside the school district’s jurisdiction.
At Wednesday’s meeting, public comments against SEDA, and Trustee Keshia Thomas’s decisive vote, led to the passage of the resolution.
“It seems to me that some of you are more interested in remaining good friends with our mayor or your developer friends, being loyal to the nearby city that you work for and trying to protect your political aspirations rather than leading with Fresno schools as the priority,” said Rhonda Dueck, a Jackson Elementary parent.
Some parents and community members told the board how families in Fresno’s poorest neighborhoods struggle with mold, crumbling sidewalks, and a lack of transportation to schools, and that SEDA would take away much-needed funding for improving infrastructure in these communities. Families that are most impacted by these development decisions do not have the option of moving outward to newly developed homes, they said.
“No one is saying you are deciding this; of course you’re not deciding SEDA,” said Patience Milrod, a local activist. “What you are doing is you are giving the city information that it needs, and you are inviting the city to a conversation, a crucial conversation that we are relying on you to have.”
Before hearing the public comments, Thomas, who is finishing her term on the school board and is running for Fresno City Council, asked the staff about the number of housing units included in the Southwest Specific Plan, saying she did not have all the information and was not ready to take a stance. But she eventually cast a vote in favor of the resolution.
Among the three trustees who abstained, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas and Susan Wittrup said the board’s primary responsibility is to improve student outcomes, and land use and the city’s development are not in the school board’s jurisdiction. Claudia Cazares, the other abstention, said she works as the affordable housing manager for the City of Clovis, a role that involves planning and development of housing and land, and therefore conflicts with her taking a position on SEDA.
Fresno Unified’s enrollment drop
In an interview with The Bee, district officials said it did not have specific information on SEDA’s impact on enrollment because the city changed its mind in December to first explore a smaller scale option.
Fresno Unified is expecting to receive more information from the city in the summer, said Paul Idsvoog, the district’s chief operations officer.
Fresno Unified is facing a sharp decrease in enrollment even without SEDA.
In the current 2025-26 school year, Fresno Unified has a total student population of 66,824. The district expects to see the number drop below 60,000 in five years, according to the district document.
The district usually designs elementary schools with a capacity of 400 to 600 students, Idsvoog said.
Currently, Fresno Unified has ten elementary schools with fewer than 400 students, according to the district.
“If you start getting schools down to about 50% capacity, that starts to become a challenge,” Idsvoog told the board.
Idsvoog told The Bee that he couldn’t recall the last time that Fresno Unified closed a school. The district is currently closely monitoring schools with low enrollment, he said.
Although the situation has not yet reached the point where school closures are necessary, the district is considering options such as moving sixth grade into middle school, changing attendance boundaries, and consolidating programs, Idsvoog said.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 4:20 PM.
