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The Fresno Unified School District board voted 6-0 this week to censure board member Terry Slatic for unethical conduct. The censure means Slatic can’t attend internal staff meetings and he must notify school administrators before visiting district campuses. He’ll also need an escort. And before he takes on leadership roles as a trustee, he must take an anger management course. For more on this, Kathleen Schock spoke with Slatic and board member Veva Islas.

We’ve just heard from Fresno Unified Trustees Terry Slatic and Veva Islas about the board’s motion to censure Slatic. But there’s also a group of concerned citizens and parents who want Slatic to be recalled from the board, in part because Bullard High School students say he threatened to kick kids off the cheer team if they brought up a blackface incident again. The incident involved two cheerleaders who were allowed to stay on the team.  We spoke with Stacy Williams, who is leading the recall effort. 

A new report from a local education reform group is calling for big changes in the Fresno Unified School District. Called Choosing Our Future 2.0, the document is from Go Public Schools Fresno, calls for new personalized accountability measures for students, and for personalized student success plans.

One of the most controversial and influential leaders of the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees has announced he won’t be running for reelection.

Fresno Unified Board trustee Brooke Ashjian made the announcement outside of the district’s headquarters.

After Fresno Bee Reporter Mackenzie Mays launched her first story in her series on the lack of sex education in the region she had an interesting conversation. Her main source called in tears saying that over $4,000 had been raised through her GoFundMe account.  

This week on Valley Edition we get an update on the situation at Oroville Dam, a progress report on plans for a new freeway in Bakersfield, and take a look at how county budgets could take a hit with a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Here's this week's show:
 

For the first time in a decade, the Fresno Unified School District is searching for a new superintendent. School board president Brooke Ashjian told Valley Public Radio in an interview on Valley Edition that he believes morale in the district is the "highest I've ever seen it" following the departure of longtime superintendent Michael Hanson on February 1st. Ashjian, who was one of Hanson's strongest critics reiterated his claims that the FBI investigation into district school construction practices is still active, contrary to statements made by the former superintendent.

The City of Fresno has reached an agreement with two local school districts to keep a handful of campuses open on weekends for community recreation.

The deal which was announced Monday involves both the Fresno Unified and Central Unified school districts.

The agreement aims to open seven high school campuses by March, with an additional seven to open by May. The campus grounds will be open between 9am and 5pm on weekends.

Fresno Unified School Board President Luis Chavez says the effort is a partnership between the districts and the city. 

The head of the Fresno Unified School District is coming under fire after claims that he instructed his staff use a cell phone app that sends messages without leaving any trace. That practice could raise ethical and legal problems for district superintendent Michael Hanson.

Journalist Mark Arax was the first to report that Hanson allegedly used the Cyber Dust app which claims it leaves no record of any of the messages sent or received.

There’s a controversy brewing in Fresno that has school districts up and down the state watching very closely. It all has to do with how districts spend taxpayer money when they build a new school. Traditionally districts would build up reserves or bond money for a new school, and then put the project out to bid for design and construction. The lowest bidder typically would get the job.

Local schools have a lot on their plate, preparing students for life, a job and the possibility of a college education. But what about students who likely won't attend college? The answer used to be in vocational education classes, things like auto shop and wood shop. But increasingly those classes have disappeared from schools with the emphasis on standardized testing and college readiness.

A day after the U.S. Department of Education gave eight of California's largest school districts a waiver from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson praised the decision, saying it will improve accountability and student performance, and "allows us to do work very differently." 

The districts, which include Sanger Unified and Fresno Unified, are all members of a coalition called the California Office to Reform Education or CORE.

Pao Saephan crouches down in his sun-drenched field. He cups a red jewel in his hand.

In a few more days, his strawberries will be fully ripe. He’ll pick them once they are garnet-colored from stem to tip.

“We want all the strawberries, to be full ripe, full flavor, with 100 percent sugar in them,” says Saephan.

In the past, he would sell the fresh berries at his roadside stand - called Sam’s Strawberry Patch. It’s located at the intersection of Manning Avenue and I Street in Reedley.

A coalition of teachers and education activists gathered today to announce an effort to recall Fresno Unified school board member Tony Vang. 

Earlier this Spring, the Fresno Unified School District established a community task force to provide the district with recommendations to help solve the district's dropout problems. FM89's Juanita Stevenson reports on how residents offered their input to the task force at a recent meeting.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the challenges of providing health care in the Valley's rural communities. We'll hear a special report about a Reedley hospital that has recently emerged from bankruptcy, and talk with Assembly Member Linda Halderman, who is a physician, about the efforts to reform the state's Medi-Cal program. We'll also learn more about Fresno Unified's new graduation task force and find out what this commission will do to help stem the wave of dropouts that has been a major source of concern in the district.