Some Fresno Unified academic competition teams have lost formerly guaranteed coverage for out-of-county competitions, placing a financial burden on the programs.
Fresno Unified has been scrambling to fill a massive $77 million budget hole left in the wake of lower enrollments and reduced average daily attendance, making cuts across the board.
Layoffs have been at the forefront of the community’s minds with dozens speaking at recent board meetings against cutting jobs. One thing on everyone’s mind is how this move will indirectly affect students.
But some cuts are going straight to student programs.
GV Wire confirmed that Fresno Unified will not fund state and national competition expenses for speech and debate students at Edison and Bullard high schools. History Day has also lost coverage for student expenses.
Coaches worry that this could decrease participation and create an equity divide.
“If I turn around and say (to students), ‘Hey, look, now you got to pay $110 to enter your project at state,’” said Edison High History Day teacher Gary Mrkaich. “I feel really confident that some projects would not move on just because they would not want to pay.”
Previously, the district covered the entry fee, transportation, and accommodations. Now, due to declining funds, that will no longer be the case.
“When funding was available, the Student Engagement Department was able to support participation at the local, state, and national levels,” district spokesperson AJ Kato said. “Due to current budget constraints, district support is now limited, and participation beyond the local level must be supported through school site resources or fundraising efforts.”
The district advised school site leaders and teacher/club advisors in May 2025, she said. However, Mrkaich and Edison High speech and debate coach Nicole Jennison say they only found out in mid-March.
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Some Fresno Unified School Sites Cover Expenses
Fresno Unified is leaving competition funding in the hands of the school and participating students, already causing an equity issue.
Some schools are dipping into site funds to pick up the financial burden of entry fees, transportation, and accommodations, while others aren’t.
Bullard High has agreed to cover all expenses, according to speech and debate coach Milla Smith.
Edison High is only covering entry fees for the History Day state competition, Mrkaich said.
If students qualify for the national competition, they must fund the entry fee, travel to and from Washington, D.C., stay, food, etc. A steep order for any family, but especially burdensome for those attending a lower-income Title 1 school.
“That’s the worst kind of messaging you can send like, ‘hey, this competition is only for the well-to-do.’” Mrkaich said. “I would hate for it to be that because, you know, we’ve got kids from all different backgrounds that are competing.”
No Speech and Dabate members from Edison qualified for state or national competition this year, but that may not be the case next year. Historically, the school has performed well, producing students that landed in the top 60 and 25 nationwide, Jennison said.
In future years, students may have to fundraise if schools are unable to budget for competitions, which fluctuate in expense each year depending on number of qualifications and inflation.
This is inequitable due to only a handful of students qualifying dependent on judging, according to Jennison. Meaning, while everyone would fundraise, only a few would reap the benefits.
Schools have options, Kato said: “Other lawful and approved sources, such as booster support, community partnerships, or donations, may also be explored as appropriate.”
Academic Extracurriculars Build Skills and Boost Attendance
Competitive academic extracurriculars build important life skills and correlate with enhanced student engagement and attendance.
These are topic priorities for the district as it attempts to boost student achievement and attendance. Last year, Fresno Unified developed goals around college and career readiness and life skills.
“Speech and debate, which deals with communication, is especially vital for life skills,” Jennison said. “The skills of being able to articulate themselves well, to structure an argument in support of their position. Those are valuable skills.”
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Additionally, extracurriculars are what students really care about, Smith said.
“If you come to any school campus after hours, it comes alive, because the kids are where they want to be,” she said.
It is unclear whether more extracurricular programs will lose support, but there have been budget reductions in “the area of unit and club offerings,” Kato said.
“Fresno Unified is not characterizing this as a broader districtwide elimination of extracurricular or co-curricular competition support,” Kato said. “Funding for student travel and competition participation has often depended on the specific activity, event level, available resources, and allowable funding source.”
Teachers acknowledged budget reductions but believe cuts should be kept away from classrooms and students. And Mrkaich and Jennison both felt these cuts would never happen to an athletics program.
“I understand the district is looking at their finances moving forward, but this is the most front-facing thing that students do,” Mrkaich said. “You’re saying that that’s like our first area of cut, are the student-facing activities? That wouldn’t make sense to me.”