In California’s largest school district without a teacher’s union, a teachers’ group succeeded in getting enough signatures for a petition to start process. (Bee file photo)
JOHN WALKER
Fresno Bee file
Teachers in California’s 11th-largest school district have filed a petition that could end Clovis Unified’s 66-year run as the largest school district west of the Mississippi River without a teachers union. The move follows years of organizing by two competing groups and a state ruling that dismantled the district’s employer-backed teacher organization.
Here’s a look at the history and what’s next2021 — Organizing begins: Clovis teachers, psychologists and counselors formed the Association of Clovis Educators in April 2021, backed by the California Teachers Association, to push for unionization in the state’s largest district without a teachers union.February 2022 — First union contract: School psychologists and mental health support professionals voted 49-16 to join ACE, forming the first-ever union for certified educators in Clovis Unified. Organizers said the pandemic exposed how excluded staff felt from district decision-making.December 2023 — State finds violations: The Public Employment Relations Board ruled that Clovis Unified illegally supported the Faculty Senate by paying for phone bills, a vehicle, technology, offices and other perks not offered to other employee groups. ACE appealed, arguing the ruling should have disbanded the Faculty Senate entirely.June 2024 — Faculty Senate dissolved: A follow-up PERB ruling ended the Faculty Senate, finding the district violated neutrality and deterred employees from joining unions. ICUE says the district had been spending $300,000 or more annually to support the group.August 2025 — Ruling read aloud: Deputy Superintendent Norm Anderson read the PERB notice to district employees, closing a yearlong dispute. Superintendent Corrine Folmer had been ordered to read it herself, but the district appealed that requirement before agreeing to mediation.The two competitors: ACE is affiliated with the California Teachers Association and has already organized school psychologists and American Sign Language interpreters. Independent Clovis Unified Educators, also formed in 2021, charges $39 monthly dues — less than half of ACE’s — and pitches itself as independent from state and national political groups.August 2026 — Petition filed: ICUE announced Thursday it collected signatures from more than 1,000 teachers — a majority of the district’s certificated staff — and filed a Petition for Recognition with PERB to become the exclusive representative for full-time certificated teachers.What’s next: After PERB verifies signatures, ACE has said it will file an intervention petition, which would force an election among teachers. ACE plans to seek an inclusive union covering all certificated educators, while ICUE’s petition covers only teachers. District spokesperson Kelly Avants said Clovis Unified respects employees’ right to choose how they are represented.
Original stories by Leqi Zhong, Melissa Montalvo and Laura Diaz
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.