Three Fresno school board incumbents are facing challengers. Read The Bee’s endorsements

These are critical times for the Fresno Unified School District as it searches for a new superintendent, deals with declining enrollment and low test scores, and asks voters to approve a $500 million bond for much-needed repairs and upgrades on aging facilities.

The state’s third-largest school district, with an enrollment of 71,480, is currently led by interim superintendent Misty Her. The school board had initially started an in-house search to replace Superintendent Bob Nelson, who left after seven years for a teaching post at Fresno State, but later ditched that in favor of a nationwide search. There is no current timetable on completing that task.

The board is also asking district residents to approve a general obligation bond to fix older facilities.

The district, whose enrollment is 69.5% Latino and 10.6% Asian, once had more than 80,000 students. It has seen rapid growth in southeast Fresno where the Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School was opened in the fall of 2022.

U.S. News & World Report found that student achievements in reading and math remain a challenge, with 44% of high school students meeting proficiency levels in reading and 14% in math.

Earlier this year, the board faced a $38 million budget shortfall and imposed a 7% cut throughout all departments. The district has more than 10,000 employees, with more than 4,000 of them teachers. Its 2024-25 budget is $1.67 billion.

In November, voters will also be asked to determine if three incumbents deserve to be returned for new four-year terms. There are challengers in each district. Trustees are paid $29,320 annually and have a part-time liaison to help with board business.

The Bee Editorial Board met with the candidates and offers its recommendations.

District 2

The Roosevelt High area has been represented by Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas since 2016. She is the deputy general manager for external affairs at Westlands Water District. Her challenger is Joseph C. Aquino, a 19-year-old who graduated from Hoover High.

Jonasson, who ran unopposed four years ago, has taken an aggressive approach on making sure there is “an academic return on investment” from hundreds of programs the district has invested in in an effort to improve student academic achievement. “Our system has slowly been moving in that direction,” she said. “How do we know that this mentoring program is better than another? How do we measure?”

That measurement will be a valuable tool as the district faces the loss of COVID funds, shrinking enrollment and uncertain state support.

Jonasson has proven to be an effective board member. She has pushed for expansion of dual immersion programs that she says “help foster a sense of community;” lobbied for community input in selecting the next superintendent; and, turned the board’s attention to cut down on duplicate programs that might not be as successful as others.

She also supports the bond issue, Measure H, and believes funding should be prioritized on schools that have major needs.

The Fresno Teachers Association has stayed neutral in this race, but Jonasson has won backing from other labor unions.

Aquino is no stranger to the school board, having served as a student member in the 2022-23 school year and “saw many issues neglected.” He is a political science major at Fresno State.

He also believes English learner students “are set up for failure” due to lack of resources. He wants the board members “to be more hands on” to know what goes on in the classroom.

Jonasson, despite her practice of abstaining on issues dealing directly with Roosevelt High because she is a nearby resident, deserves another four-year term. She has the passion and drive needed to focus on academic improvements, selecting the right superintendent, and representing the district.

District 5

The Fresno High area has been represented by Andy Levine since 2022 when he won a special election to fill out the term of the late Carol Mills. He is an instructor in the College of Social Sciences at Fresno State and seeks a full, four-year term.

There are two challengers: Fresno County Board of Education board member James Martínez, and teacher/advocate Emma Villa. Martínez is backed by the Fresno Teachers Association.

“I am, after these first two years, 100% certain that this is where I want to make my mark and have my legacy,” said Levine, who grew up in the Fresno High area, but graduated from Edison High. He has master’s in the sociology of education from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in sociology at UC Davis.

Levine stressed the board should do a nationwide search for a new superintendent, whittle “some 400 different, scattered initiatives” to five top goals, and shepherd the five-year “Every Child is a Reader” initiative — currently in its second year — to fruition. The initiative seeks to increase district test scores that remain at the bottom half in the state.

Martínez was first elected to the county board of education four years ago. He has a daughter attending an elementary school in the district. He is an alumnus of Fresno High, which was founded in 1889.

He jumped into the race to combat the district’s low achievement scores. “Up until this point, the status quo has been accepted,” said Martínez, who pointed out the Clovis and Central districts have better student test results.

Martínez said the board should have begun a nationwide search for a superintendent from the start. He called the district “a ship without a rudder and eight captains, trying to figure out which way it’s going to go.”

Villa, a teacher with a master’s degree in education, said there are “a lot of disconnects” between the district and parents. She jumped into the race after helping a parent of a child diagnosed with dyslexia receive district help.

Levine has been a steadying influence on the board since his arrival. This figures to be a race between Levine and Martínez, who is being backed by the Fresno Teachers Association. The incumbent has proven to be a worthy representative of the district and deserves a full term.

District 6

The Hoover High district has been represented by Claudia Cázares since 2016. Her challenger is Daniel Bordona, who retired in August as an educator in Fresno Unified after 33 years.

Cázares, the affordable housing programs manager for Clovis, is seeking another term to focus on the “Every Child is a Reader” initiative and push the district to improve student achievement.

The board, she said, initially decided to listen to the community in limiting the superintendent search internally, but reversed course after more community input. “We really want somebody that has the ability to work very closely with our community partners, and maybe has worked with them in the past,” said Cázares about what she looks for in a new superintendent.

She, like Bordona, supports Measure H.

Bordona, who worked 10 years at Hoover, said he still wants to “contribute to education in Fresno.” Bordona said the board must do a better job of improving student achievement.

Cázares is the best choice to represent the Hoover area. She has the experience and vision that the district will need if it is to improve on student achievement.

This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 9:25 AM.