WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.200 Local criticisms of Fresno Unified School District are not the 2 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:14.080 preserve of crank conservatives, you know, like me. The criticisms 3 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:17.800 that people have leveled against Presdey Unified are starting to 4 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:20.640 be kind of universally shared and getting to the point 5 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:25.160 where even the board of trustees is starting to recognize 6 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:32.359 the need for massive change. And I want to recommend 7 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.399 to you all. I retweeted it at my Twitter account 8 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.560 Twitter dot com slash Fresno Johnny a piece. It's actually 9 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:42.119 an editorial from gv wire, but it seems like the 10 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.840 editorial board of gv wire just consists of Bill McEwan 11 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:50.560 and that's it, which is not really This is not 12 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:52.240 a criticism of the piece, because I think the piece 13 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:57.399 is actually pretty darn good. McEwen is an interesting fella. 14 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:03.079 Bill McEwen was a big time editor with the Fresno 15 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:04.920 B for years and years and years. He ran their 16 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.680 opinion page. He had been a columnist for them, and 17 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:14.000 when Darius Assimi decided he was starting gv wire, it 18 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:17.280 seems like he basically poached the best guy he could 19 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.319 possibly get from the Fresno B to start his news 20 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:25.439 operation and kind of was a big shake up in 21 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:33.799 the local Fresno news scene. McEwen. I'm sure McEwan's more 22 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:37.400 liberal than I am, and probably my criticisms of Fresney 23 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:42.359 Unified would go a little deeper and more fundamental than McEwen. 24 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.840 I have my reservations about, you know, the whole setup 25 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:52.439 and structure of California public schools in general, and broader 26 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.280 criticisms of the whole structure and even frankly just American 27 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:04.120 public schools in general. But with all that said, McEwen 28 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:09.240 has sort of been McEwen has been a long, long, 29 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:15.639 long time critic of Fresnew Unified, and coming from someone 30 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.719 who is at least politically neutral, if not politically just 31 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:21.360 of the left, I think it kind of gives more 32 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:24.240 weight to it that it's not just you know, conservatives 33 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:28.879 yelling into the wind, it's everybody. I think everyone is 34 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:35.159 seeing that this is a really badly run school district, 35 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:39.840 no matter how you slice it, and that the way 36 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.639 in which it's been run and how it's been operating 37 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:48.400 has just not been acceptable. So I want to read 38 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:51.680 some of his editorial, and I want to read some 39 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.000 of his editorial, and again I recommend all of you 40 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.560 to read it. He writes, we have a simple request 41 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:59.639 of Fresne unifies trustees as they go about the all 42 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:05.520 important work of selecting the district's next superintendent. Check your egos, 43 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.840 alliances and prejudices at the door, put aside any political 44 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:11.800 ambitions you may have, and focus on one thing, which 45 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:15.759 candidate is best equipped to lead an academic revolution that 46 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:22.199 results in tens of thousands more students meeting state standards 47 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:26.280 for literacy and math and exiting the district prepared to 48 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:29.960 succeed in the workplace or college. And he italicizes a 49 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:36.879 revolution that results in tens of thousands more students meeting 50 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.000 state standards because that's what it's going to take, actually 51 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:44.800 to take, Like Fresno Unified, is such a tire iron 52 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:49.919 at such a tire fire, grease fire, whatever kind of fire, 53 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:56.639 dumpster fire that they are pushing through kids, Like tens 54 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:03.199 of thousands more students need to achieves significantly better before 55 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:09.000 this thing is even adequate. That's the level of the problem. 56 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:12.879 And I think that's a really good way of phrasing 57 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:21.439 it by McEwan. He goes on at every trustee board meeting, 58 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.000 someone prefaces a vote or a policy decision by saying 59 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.399 it's about the kids. Oh, actually, you know, let me 60 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:33.680 go back to this, he noted earlier in the piece 61 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.199 when he says, check your egos, alliances and prejudices at 62 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:38.319 the door. Put aside any political ambitions you may have. 63 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:42.079 There are definitely people on the president Unified Board of 64 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:46.639 Trustees who have political ambitions, and there have been at 65 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:53.439 least accusations made. I don't know how well some of them. 66 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.839 Stories that got published in GV Wire from anonymous sources, 67 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.120 specifically about Elizabeth Jonathon Ross, who's a member of the 68 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:06.519 Board of Trustees. Elizabeth Johnathon Ross is the wife of 69 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:10.040 Luis Chavez, who used to be a city council member 70 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.800 who is now a member of the President County Board 71 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:19.439 of Supervisors. A story came out alleging that Chavez was 72 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:22.759 trying to make a deal with the local Mong various 73 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:28.439 local Mong nonprofits to have them back Elizabeth Johonnathon Ross 74 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:32.439 in her special election race to succeed him, as Chavez 75 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.199 was leaving the city council for the County Board of Supervisors, 76 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:42.199 with the promise that Elizabeth Johnathon Ross would support Misty 77 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:46.360 her who had been the deputy superintendent is now the 78 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:53.439 interim superintendent support her as the full time superintendent, so 79 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:58.399 that accusation was made. Whether it's true or not, I 80 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:02.480 don't know, but it does seem as though the Fresident 81 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.920 Unified Board of Trustees is becoming something of a stepping 82 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.319 stone or is viewed as something of stepping stone for 83 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:16.839 people who want to jump into local politics. And I 84 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:19.839 will also note one of the things you do have 85 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:23.480 to kind of consider with GV wire, I think it 86 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.639 does shade things a little, is that Susan Wittrop, who's 87 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:32.439 the board chair of the President Unified Board of Trustees, 88 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.720 is in a relationship with Darius Assimi, who owns GV wire. 89 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:42.519 So I sort of wonder about sort of the ways 90 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:45.199 in which gv wire seems to support her. But you know, 91 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:47.519 I'm not going to question me kewan though I think 92 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.199 McEwan's a pretty a guy who kind of stands on 93 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:52.319 his own two feet as far as what he thinks. So, 94 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:58.720 you know, anyway, let's carry on. At every trustee board meeting, 95 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.319 someone prefaces a v or a policy decision by saying 96 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.160 it's about the kids. However, in the state's third largest 97 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:07.600 school district, that's important to remember. President Unified is the 98 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:10.319 third largest school district in the whole state. It's a big, 99 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:16.040 big district. It's rarely, if ever, about the students. That's 100 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:21.600 not hyperbole. It's a fact buttressed by many decades of 101 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:25.040 academic decline and Fresney Unified status as one of the 102 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:30.439 nation's worst performing districts. As evidence, we offer these dismal statistics. 103 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:34.160 The district is forty nine point one points below the 104 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:37.920 state standard in English testing and seventy eight point one 105 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:42.120 points below the standard in math testing. Following small gains 106 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:45.759 in twenty twenty four, the numbers for students of color 107 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:49.120 are even worse. Truth be told, this betrayal of our 108 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:53.120 community's children has never bothered many in the district's business 109 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:59.800 as usual bureaucracy. Following Bob Nelson's retirement announcement, a majority 110 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.839 of trustees wanted to keep the search for the next 111 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:12.839 superintendent in house. The very definition of insanity, and that's true. Basically, 112 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.959 it was president, so Bob Nelson had been the superintendent 113 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.000 of President Unified. He was superintendent throughout all the COVID stuff. 114 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.360 Nothing really improved as far as academic scores for kids. 115 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:27.800 Bob Nelson goes on to a nice liness little sinecure 116 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:35.519 gig at Fresne unified and lo and behold, we hear 117 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:38.399 that Misty Hur, the deputy superintendent, is just going to 118 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:42.000 be bumped up to be the superintendent. And when this happened, 119 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.840 people sort of pump the brakes. We're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 120 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:48.279 We're just keeping the search in house. This is like 121 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.120 the third largest school district in the country, in the state, 122 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:54.159 and we can't, you know, maybe have a broader search here. 123 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:02.720 And it's we're taking someone from the current administration, an 124 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:10.559 administration that's overseen this massive decline in achievement, and just 125 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:17.919 promoting them. Why are we doing that? Fortunately, then board 126 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:21.320 President Susan Wittrup publicly assailed that plan, insisted on a 127 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.879 national search, and community members backed her. The school board 128 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:29.120 then flipped the script trustees Claudia Kazarres Elizabeth Jonathon Ross, 129 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.720 who that story had come out about in gb wire, 130 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:37.720 alleging that Luis Chavez had tried to negotiate the deal 131 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:42.840 with the Mongs so that Jonathan Ross would back Misty Her, 132 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:49.679 et cetera, et cetera. Again, anonymous sources story. I don't 133 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.840 know if it's true or not, it was reported though 134 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:56.039 within GBWAR, trustees Claudia Kazaras, Elizabeth Jonathon Ross, Keisha Thomas, 135 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.240 and Valerie Davis voted with Wittrop to pause the search 136 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:02.480 and start over in hope of attracting highly qualified candidates 137 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:06.120 from across the nation. Other small victories have ensued. Working 138 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:08.759 closely with interim Superintendent Misty Her, the board adopted a 139 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:11.919 learning plan with the ambitious fast Track goals for student learning. 140 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.039 In addition, the board implemented a policy that states there 141 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:17.879 will be no hiring, promoting, or lateral movement of staff 142 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.960 whose performance quote does not meet standards. That was significant 143 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.919 in a district where underperforming principles and other administration administrators 144 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.960 often got promoted. The question is are all trustees fully 145 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:32.679 committed to this plan as they're about to hire the 146 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.399 next superintendent or is it window dressing to mask a 147 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.639 return to the old ways resulting every year in thousands 148 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:44.320 of students who can't read or do basic math. Every 149 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:47.799 trustee has crafted questions for the superintendent finalists. Of course, 150 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:53.360 here are our suggestions. One which candidate is best equipped 151 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.480 to make the difficult decisions needed to help students who 152 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.759 will infuse the district with new energy and leverage its 153 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:03.360 men assive size to accelerate student achievement. Who has a 154 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:06.720 history of sending more assets into classrooms while meeting the 155 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.840 demands of a union workforce. And that's a big one. 156 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:15.879 That's a big one, Like a lot of I think 157 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:24.120 the union provides a lot of problems to academic achievement 158 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.440 because of the ways in which the union can be 159 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:34.159 protective of teachers who underperform. I you know, the whole notion. 160 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:40.159 I mean, basically, anytime you try to push any idea 161 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:47.960 that seems to tie academic achievement of students to compensation 162 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:52.799 of teachers, that hey, teachers, who's you know, and with 163 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.360 the full understanding that you can have the best teacher 164 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:57.080 in the world if you have a kid who's coming 165 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.320 from a totally chaotic home environment or a kid who's 166 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.879 just not going to learn that you can have a 167 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:07.120 really good teacher and not necessarily have all the kids 168 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.960 achieving at a high level. But certainly there is something 169 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:15.320 about teacher quality that impacts the outcome of students. If 170 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.080 teacher quality has nothing to do with student outcome, then 171 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.799 why the heck do we train teachers at all? But 172 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.679 when you promote when you propose to the union any 173 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:27.919 kind of ideas about well teacher performance being tied to 174 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.639 student achievement or student test scores or something like that, 175 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:35.759 the union has a conniption fit. So I think this 176 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:39.679 is a good point to raise by McEwan, who has 177 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.000 a history of sending more assets into classrooms while meeting 178 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.720 the demands of a union workforce. The demands of a 179 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:51.159 union workforce are often, I think, significant hindrances to student learning, 180 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:54.960 which is why I kind of I don't know. Government 181 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:59.960 employee unions as a concept, I think are highly suspect, 182 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.919 and especially in the context of teachers unions, like people 183 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:08.279 have this wrongheaded notion that, you know, the point of 184 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:11.960 a teacher's union is not to teach. That's not the 185 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:17.720 point of the union. The end goal of a teacher's union, 186 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.440 like the goal of a knife is to cut. The 187 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.840 end goal of a teacher's union is to get more money, 188 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:29.960 more jobs for the teachers, better hours, more pay, better hours, 189 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.919 better conditions, better benefits, et cetera. The point is money 190 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.159 and jobs. That's the point of the union. That's why 191 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:40.320 it exists. That's its end goal. If a student happens 192 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.480 to learn something. Well, that's a happy accident along the way. 193 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.879 But that's not the job of the union to teach people. 194 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.759 The job of the union is to represent the financial 195 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:52.360 interests of adults. And I think too often President Unified 196 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:59.840 has been so driven by the union debates with administration 197 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.679 and the fight to get more money that people lose 198 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.080 sight of the fact that, no, the school district is 199 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:10.799 not a jobs program for you know, adults with you know, 200 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:17.240 with a education degree or something. The point of a 201 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:22.440 school district is to teach kids. Who has the savvy 202 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:25.440 to forge partnerships with elected officials and community groups, who 203 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:29.279 believe Fresno's business success hinges on an educated, skilled workforce, 204 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.559 Who has the backbone to hold all accountable for their 205 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:36.039 performance without favored special interests or allies. Who has the 206 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:39.840 communication skills to sell more families on the importance of 207 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.240 education and becoming involved in their child's learning. Who has 208 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.639 the knowledge and experience to finally fix the special ed program. 209 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:50.279 Who has sat in a superintendent's chair before and produced 210 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:55.480 winning results. That's another good point, like why would we 211 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:00.399 just promote up even with Misty Hurr, who everything I've 212 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:05.200 read about Misty Herr has been pretty good. Actually, she 213 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:08.120 actually seems like a decently impressive person to me, so 214 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:11.200 it's really nothing against her. But you know, she's not 215 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:15.279 been a superintendent. This is the third largest district in California. 216 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.159 You mean to tell me we can't find someone who's 217 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:20.759 already been a superintendent of a smaller district, who has 218 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.159 had demonstrated results that we can't recruit to come here 219 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:31.679 and work on this. This is Presde Unified's last chance 220 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.039 to write the ship. If the next superintendent fails, the 221 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:37.720 community will have no choice but to demand that FUSD 222 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:43.039 be split into smaller districts more tuned to student needs. Now, 223 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.200 that is a proposal I've never heard before, the idea 224 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:51.399 of breaking up President Unified into smaller districts. When we return, 225 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:53.960 we'll talk a little bit more about the union and 226 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.399 other sort of obstacles and other really stupid things President 227 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:00.320 Unified has done in the last couple of months. That 228 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:04.320 is next on the John Girardi Show, going through a 229 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:08.919 really great piece from GV Wire, written by Bill McEwen. 230 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.840 It's a gv wire editorial, but I think it's just 231 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.679 written by Bill McEwen, so I encourage you all to 232 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.440 check it. Out. I retweeted it from my Twitter account 233 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:24.279 Twitter dot com slash Fresno Johnny at Fresno Johnny. But now, 234 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:26.519 one of the things I want to highlight from McEwan's 235 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:32.039 piece is the difficulties that Fresno Unified is going to 236 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:39.039 face from the union and from the union as well 237 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.240 as dumb decisions they've sort of already tied themselves to. 238 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:47.039 So let me first start with some of the dumb 239 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.080 decisions they've tied themselves to. And one of the big 240 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:54.039 ones was just this past November, they already passed this 241 00:16:54.399 --> 00:17:01.519 massive bond measure. For this massive bond measure, it was 242 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:04.480 tied to a state bond measure. So basically, this is 243 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:11.200 one of the things that's so frustrating about public school funding. 244 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:17.839 All right, So bond measures tend to be one of 245 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:22.039 the big ways in which school districts try to make 246 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:27.039 a grab for money. And let's remember what a bond is. 247 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.400 This is my soapbox. I do it every year when 248 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:33.319 there's every like four year. Pretty much every four years 249 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.039 now we're having bond measures, and I bet we're going 250 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:40.039 to continue to see such bond measures as California continues 251 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.160 to have a budgetary problems. So what is a bond. 252 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:49.519 A bond is a loan to a school district or 253 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:55.680 to some other municipal entity that has to be paid 254 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:01.839 back with interest. It is a loan to a municipal 255 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:07.759 entity that must be paid back with interest. That is 256 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:17.400 what a bond is. Basically, what seems to happen, Well, 257 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.440 we had President Unified had Measure h Clovis Unified had 258 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:25.039 Measure A this past November, and it was all tied 259 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.519 to a state ballot initiative for like a state wide 260 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.240 ten billion dollars bond. And then the way that these 261 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:40.759 statewide bond measures get structured, basically it incentivizes local school 262 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.359 districts to pass bond measures because basically, okay, here's this 263 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:47.880 pot of state money, and if you raise local bond 264 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.720 measure money, then the state money will match it. So, 265 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:55.480 as a result, when there's a state bond measure on 266 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.640 the ballot for everyone in California to vote for, every 267 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:01.720 local school district all of a sudden has a bond 268 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.480 measure and it doesn't seem like it's actually tied to 269 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.279 existing emergent need. It's tied to the fact that there's 270 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:15.480 state money on the table and the local school district 271 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:17.119 wants to go grab it. And this is just a 272 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.359 characteristic thing of local governments in state government, is that 273 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:25.279 if there is money available from a higher level of government, 274 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:31.920 they will bend over backwards and stab their own mother 275 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.279 in order to get it. Okay, the state government will 276 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:37.200 do that. If there is federal money on the table 277 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.599 for them to get, they will do anything possible to 278 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.400 comply with whatever federal strings are attached to get that money. 279 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:45.720 And local governments will do that if there's a federal 280 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:49.839 or state buck to be got. Why well, unlike the 281 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:55.799 federal government, the state of California can't really spend into 282 00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:03.319 the red indefinitely. Local government can't spend in the red indefinitely. 283 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:06.440 They just don't have that capacity. So if their state 284 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:08.240 or federal money out there to be got, they will 285 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:14.559 get it. So here you have every single school district 286 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:20.079 in the valley with a big time bond measure and 287 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.359 it's not necessarily and it's on the heels of we 288 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:27.559 just they did this. They do this bond measure in 289 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.559 twenty twenty four. They just had done a bond measure 290 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:37.319 in twenty twenty like four years prior, and so here's 291 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:40.880 Fresno Unified, still in the midst of their search for 292 00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:44.440 a new superintendent, with the board debating all these like 293 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:51.799 big time, big picture strategic ideas and considerations about what 294 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.400 direction they want the district to go in, et cetera. 295 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:59.079 And here they are saying, well, we need to put 296 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:02.119 Measure H on the and we need to have Measure 297 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.279 H again to get this state money on the table. 298 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:10.160 So they propose a five hundred million dollars bond measure 299 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:14.519 for Fresne Unified. And let's remember again the nature of 300 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.519 a bond. A bond is just a loan. It's a 301 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.720 loan that has to be repaid, and it's usually repaid 302 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:24.359 by the taxpayers in the form of property taxes. Well, 303 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.000 I just rent. I'm not paying for it, Yeah, you are. 304 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:31.200 Your rent is probably going to go up if your 305 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.920 landlord's property taxes keep going up. Eventually that gets reflected 306 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:39.599 in the price of rent. So it's paid by the taxpayers. 307 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.799 It's paid by individual people who live within the school districts, 308 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:47.960 within the school district's boundaries. Regardless of whether you send 309 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.519 your kid to a presdent unified school or not, I 310 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:53.200 live within the boundary lines of close Unified. My property 311 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:56.039 taxes are paying for close unified school district in spite 312 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:57.599 of the fact that my kids don't attend a close 313 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:06.440 unified school district school. So here's President Unified like, yeah, 314 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.799 gung ho, let's do a five hundred million dollar thing. 315 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:17.079 It takes them. They didn't even have set yet before 316 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:20.519 people started receiving their ballots in the mail. The people 317 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:22.000 got their ballots in the mail, I think, you know, 318 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:23.960 like a month and a half month before the election, 319 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:29.160 President Unified's steph had not even board, had not set 320 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.880 and agreed upon the list of things that the five 321 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:38.640 hundred million dollars was gonna pay for. That that's how 322 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:43.000 poorly run the whole thing was. And here they are 323 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.240 in the middle of actually deciding on all these big 324 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:48.000 strategic ideas. They don't have their full time superintendent, and 325 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:50.720 yet they're gonna get five hundred million dollars for building projects. 326 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:55.319 They don't even know exactly what they're gonna fund. Set on, 327 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:58.440 we're gonna and then finally they set on, we're gonna 328 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:03.559 have this this five hundred million, have it, build this, this, this, this, 329 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:07.799 and this when so now you're going to saddle that 330 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:13.240 strategic vision on whatever new superintendent you bring in. It's 331 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.400 putting the cart before the horse. And again let's remember 332 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:18.720 it's a five hundred million dollar loan. Five hundred million 333 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:22.440 is just what the school district gets. The taxpayers have 334 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:27.480 to pay five hundred million plus interest. So and the 335 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:29.759 interest over the life of the loan, I think it 336 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:34.160 was about thirty year loan. The interest amounts that the 337 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:36.359 taxpayer is going to pay about a billion dollars for 338 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:38.880 this five hundred million dollars worth of benefit that Fresne 339 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.440 Unified is getting a little I think a little under 340 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:48.160 a billion dollars. So this is the kind of venal 341 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:55.160 money grabbing incompetence at fresnean Unified. All right, when we return, 342 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:56.759 I want to talk a little bit about the union 343 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:01.720 and challenges that the district faces with achievement from the union. 344 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:05.359 That's next on the John's Roady Show. I want to 345 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:09.400 talk more about Fresney Unified, sort of inspired by the 346 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:12.799 really good editorial from GV Wire written by Bill McEwan 347 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:15.480 about the challenges President Unified faces as they're trying to 348 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:20.920 finally hire their full time superintendent. And I want to 349 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:23.920 talk about the challenges Presney Unified, and we know the 350 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:27.880 problems at Fresne Unified. They're you know, student academic achievement 351 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:31.720 in English is like forty nine points below the state standards. 352 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:35.039 Student academic achievement in math is like seventy eight points 353 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:41.000 below the state standard, which is almost incredible and one 354 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.480 of the big challenges they face. And I think any 355 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.680 public school district that has a unionized workforce faces is 356 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:49.599 from the union itself. So let me chalk just first 357 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.839 about the whole concept of a union. Why I don't 358 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:57.160 think it makes sense for within government unions, the unions 359 00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:02.599 of government workers. Let me put it that way. Labor 360 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:08.759 unions as a concept developed in ways that I think 361 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.440 are very reasonable, and I think is a good concept 362 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:16.720 in and of itself. If you have a massive corporation 363 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:22.519 with a massive workforce, and maybe the work is not 364 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:30.160 super skilled labor or partially skilled, not quite skilled labor, 365 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:33.920 et cetera. Like a good example is General Motors. All right, 366 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:39.039 General Motors, there's a bunch of people who work the line. 367 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:45.400 Any one individual person does not have great negotiating power 368 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:50.599 against General Motors. That one person might more desperately need 369 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:55.400 a job than General Motors needs that one person. That 370 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:59.039 one person might be deemed by GM to be more 371 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:05.240 or less repla, but the job that is offered to 372 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:09.240 that one worker might not be as easily replaceable, and 373 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:14.160 the risks of not having that job available are much 374 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:17.039 bigger to that one individual person. So as a result, 375 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.119 there's this real imbalance when it comes to negotiating a 376 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:26.279 fair wage. A fair wage, fair and safe working conditions, 377 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:34.039 fair and safe hours, et cetera. If all of the 378 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:38.240 members of the workforce get together and pool their resources 379 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:44.880 in representation, they can negotiate with the management at General 380 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:48.960 Motors on a more even playing field. If all of 381 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:53.759 the workforce is telling General Motors, listen, you need all 382 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:57.400 of us here, and if we stop working, your whole 383 00:26:57.400 --> 00:27:02.960 operation falls apart and you suffer pretty badly. Your shareholders 384 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.079 suffer pretty darn badly. And your job as management is 385 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:11.960 to maximize value for your shareholders. All right, So let's 386 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:14.880 come to the table and let's get a deal done 387 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:21.799 that keeps things honest for the workers and allows you 388 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:26.599 to still make a profit. That there's two sides whose 389 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:35.960 interests compete. Whatever profits are made at General Motors. Management 390 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:37.640 has an incentive to want to keep as much of 391 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:41.599 the profit for itself and for its shareholders. Labor wants 392 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:44.640 to keep as much of the profits as they can 393 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:50.279 for paying them. You have two sides with different opposing incentives, 394 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:55.519 and by unionizing the workforce, you give the workforce a 395 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:59.720 greater ability to have an even playing field and representation. 396 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:06.039 All right, that's how it works in private industries, in 397 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:11.599 the private sector, and frankly, I'm supportive of the concept 398 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:14.200 of labor unions within the private sector. Now, I don't 399 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:17.839 think every union behaves well or fairly in every single 400 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.880 respect all the time. I don't think every business behaves 401 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:23.759