Alvarado’s work history draws last-minute scrutiny as heated Fresno Co. Superintendent draws to close

Fresno County Superintendent of Schools contender Johnny Alvarado is facing scrutiny over his work history. 

ABC30 reported last week that Alvarado was placed on paid administrative leave from Parlier Unified School District, exposing the candidate for misleading the station about what actually happened. 

Driving the news: Alvarado originally claimed he voluntarily retired from Parlier Unified to focus on his campaign, and denied being placed on leave during an interview with ABC30.

After ABC30 produced documents verifying his leave status, Alvarado admitted on KMJ radio that he was not truthful.

What he’s saying: Alvarado told ABC30 he retired from Parlier Unified in order to focus on his campaign for County Superintendent. 

When directly asked by reporter Gabe Ferris if there was leave before his retirement, Alvarado told ABC30, “There was not.” 

But Alvarado appeared on KMJ last Friday saying that he was not truthful. 

“I was not being truthful,” Alvarado said on KMJ. “There’s no doubt about it, when I went back and listened to the question.” 

Alvarado added, “When Gabe asked me the question on May 19, the research was still being done. Not knowing that I could speak about it, maybe that was one of the reasons why I didn’t say, ‘yes.’” 

He told KMJ that his administrative leave was connected to campaign concerns. 

Candidates respond: Alvarado is running against incumbent Superintendent Michele Cantwell-Copher and former Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Brien. 

Both candidates decried Alvarado’s issues in statements to the television station. 

“I believe voters deserve transparency and accountability, and I trust Fresno County voters will carefully evaluate all candidates and their records,” Cantwell-Copher said. 

O’Brien said, “Fresno County will never reach its full potential if district superintendents cannot rely on the honesty and integrity of the person meant to lead and support them.”

Other issues surface: ABC30 also reported that Alvarado had entered into a separation agreement with Selma Unified School District in 2022 despite that his LinkedIn profile states that he was with the district until 2024. 

GV Wire reported that Alvarado has a pattern of leaving districts during the school year.