FRESNO, Calif. — The former spokeswoman for Fresno Unified School District announced her leave from the district Monday, just weeks after she was embroiled in a controversy over releasing a document with inaccurate information.
Nikki Henry, who served as chief communications officer, announced on her LinkedIn profile that she was leaving after working for the district for almost six years.
In May, Henry was asked to produce a document to show how the Fresno Teachers Association was going after superintendent Misty Her since August of 2023.
The information in the document, which Henry admitted was made using an AI-generated tool, was mostly inaccurate. Union officials were handed the document and later noticed a link included in the files was for the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. The union quickly called for an investigation.
The document linked to a news article that quoted the union president, but included a quote that did not actually appear in the article. The document also referenced several meetings and dates that did not match with the union’s records.
After over a month of silence, Henry addressed the mistake in her post Monday.
Henry takes fall for ‘mistake’
Henry described the problem as a result of moving “too quickly under pressure,” putting trust in an AI-generated tool after attending a private meeting, and going forward with a document she called a “rough draft.”
“[The document] wasn’t perfect and I didn’t push pause to fact-check,” Henry wrote. “I should have. That one’s on me.”
Henry, who has been with the state’s third largest school district since 2019, also said the document was not meant to be made public or to be an attack on the union.
Despite owning up to the mistake, Henry said she didn’t want to let the incident define her career. She said in her post that during her tenure with the district, she highlighted positive work, helped give voice and “authentic engagement to families,” and developed a new communications department with better communications in different languages.
Henry said she does not have an immediate new role.
