Fresno Unified employees packed the board room on Feb. 25 to oppose the layoff plan.
Leqi Zhong
Fresno Unified may add more positions to its job reduction plan after the district’s governing board approved sending layoff notices to 274 employees last month.
The governing board for the state’s third-largest school district will discuss eliminating more positions at Wednesday’s meeting, according to the meeting agenda.
The 49 positions on the list are retirements or vacancies from classified positions, including 15 custodians, 14 nutrition services assistants and two bus drivers.
Another item on the agenda seeks to reduce certified services. The district seeks to reduce one prevention and intervention manager position and one nurse practitioner position.
Fresno Unified did not return a request for comment.
At the Feb. 25 board meeting, Fresno Unified’s school board approved notifying 84 certified employees and 190 classified employees that their positions could be terminated at the end of the school year. The board also approved the elimination of 64 vacancies.
The plan for cuts is not finalized. The school district is meeting with labor unions and is still in the decision-making process.
David Chavez, Fresno Unified’s chief of human resources, said on Feb. 25 that the actual scale of the layoffs is approximately 200 positions. But state law requires school districts to notify all employees who may be impacted before March 15.
The district will have some capacity to move employees to other roles, but the opportunities might exist in different departments or at different compensation levels, according to the district.
Fresno Unified, whose annual budget once ballooned to $2.3 billion with the one-time grants during the pandemic, has been struggling with shrinking revenue due to declining enrollment and low attendance. It’s currently facing a deficit of $77 million and a projected $59 million deficit the following year, according to the district.
In December, the district offered an early retirement program to 573 employees, aiming to save the district over $56 million over the next five years.
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Leqi Zhong is the Clovis accountability/enterprise reporter for The Bee. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a Master’s degree in journalism. She joined The Bee in 2023 as an education reporter. Leqi grew up in China and is native in Cantonese and Mandarin.