Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her announced September 3, 2026 that centrally funded field trips will be restored for the 2026-27 school year, reversing the district’s earlier decision to cut the funding. The Foundation for Fresno Unified Students, a nonprofit that supports the district, will cover the estimated $1.5 million cost through a one-time, one-year commitment. 

She acknowledged that families should have heard about the original change directly from the district rather than secondhand, and said the district still faces long-term financial pressure as enrollment continues to decline. 

Prior to this news, the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) eliminated $2.2 million in centrally funded field trips, roughly affecting 40,000 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. This shifts the cost of field trips onto individual schools and families across the district. 

In a statement to The Collegian, FUSD General Manager A.J. Kato addressed the district’s decision directly.

“Fresno Unified recognizes the benefit of field trips and enrichment opportunities for our students,” Kato said.

However, Kato said the loss of prior funding forced the district to make hard choices about where its remaining resources would go. 

“We had to make tough financial decisions to prioritize jobs and core student instruction,” she said.

Kato went on to address concerns that had circulated in the community since news of the funding change broke. 

“We want to be clear in response to the suggestion that the district is eliminating field trips, we are not,” Kato said.

Instead, she said, the change is narrower than it’s been portrayed. 

“What has changed is the level of centralized district funding available to subsidize certain field trips and enrichment activities,” Kato said.

The cut wiped out centralized funding for trips, including the Big Fresno Fair and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Individual school sites could still use their own budgets to pay for trips, but the district has not said how many are doing so. 

Kato said schools can continue offering field trips using site funds through its School Site Council (SSC) process, and that the district will work with principals to identify ways to use available site resources for development opportunities. 

According to FUSD, the decision stems from expiring federal pandemic relief funds that had helped cover these trips, along with a $30 million budget shortfall this year. 

Kato described the change as “essentially a return to how these activities were funded” before the district began centrally subsidizing them roughly four years ago. 

The Fresno Teachers Association (FTA) said the district’s $122 million reserve could be used to restore field trip funding. Kato disputed this, saying that money is already allocated for other purposes, including FTA-directed student supports, pandemic recovery and textbooks, and is not available to redirect toward field trips. 

The cuts follow a $55 million deficit last year, along with declining enrollment across the district, a trend officials say has reduced state funding tied to student attendance. 

Kato noted that, during the last bargaining cycle, the district and FTA agreed to set aside a separate $30 million for FTA-directed student expenditures. She said the district is open to revisiting how some of that money is used.

“We would welcome an open discussion about dedicating some of those remaining funds toward preserving enrichment opportunities,” Kato said.

Many families and teachers learned about the change secondhand. The FTA said it began handling questions from concerned parents online before the district even confirmed the change. 

In an article published by Fresnoland, FTA President Manuel Bonilla said that “schools and teachers were left to deliver the news to students and families” regarding the cuts to student field trips.

Some parents and district officials have acknowledged the same concern that, without centralized funding, field trip access depends on individual school fundraising ability. 

In an interview with EdSource, parent Whitney Bortz said, “It’s a social justice issue that the families who can afford it, their kids are the ones who are going to still get these nontraditional educational experiences, and the families who cannot afford it, will not be able to take their kids on these experiences.”