\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
Text messages acquired by Fresnoland raise questions about why the FUSD Board of Trustee’s didn’t take a stance on SEDA last month, muzzling the Superintendent in the process.<\/p>\n
Mayor Jerry Dyer wants to unleash a new Clovis in southeast Fresno \u2014 and text messages obtained by Fresnoland show he personally pressured the Fresno Unified school board to stay quiet about what it could cost the district.<\/p>\n
Hours before the board voted to shelve a resolution opposing the 9,000-acre Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan in February, Dyer sent a barrage of text messages to trustees warning them not to take a position against his signature development plan, according to documents<\/a> obtained by Fresnoland through a public records request.<\/p>\n In an identical message sent to at least four trustees on Feb. 24 \u2014 the day before the board\u2019s vote \u2014 Dyer wrote: \u201cIt is my hope that FUSD does not take a position and oppose SEDA development. That would open the door for the mayor to start engaging on educational issues which I have avoided in the past when media ask for my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n When Trustee Andy Levine pushed back, writing that he saw it as his responsibility to voice concerns about what was not in the best interest of students and families, Dyer escalated.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be clear,\u201d Dyer wrote to Levine. \u201cIf the FUSD takes a formal position against SEDA the relationship between the city and FUSD will be damaged. No way around it.\u201d<\/p>\n The next evening, four trustees \u2014 Susan Wittrup, Keshia Thomas, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas and Claudia Cazares \u2014 voted to indefinitely table the resolution in a 4-3 vote, blocking Superintendent Misty Her from taking any public stance against the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n The district\u2019s financial team has estimated<\/a> that the buildout of the SEDA plan could force the closure of as many as 11 schools in Fresno Unified, drain $200 million a year in funding and push California\u2019s third-largest school district into a new era of mass layoffs.<\/p>\n Fresno Unified is already losing students without SEDA. The district\u2019s own projections show enrollment dropping to 60,522 by 2030, and three to five school closures already on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n SEDA has faced criticism on multiple fronts beyond its impact on schools. The project carries a $4.3 billion infrastructure price tag, with developer fees covering only about 20% of the cost \u2014 leaving a $3 billion shortfall<\/a> with no financing plan. The city\u2019s own environmental review found the project would increase air pollution in the area by roughly 600%.<\/a><\/p>\n None of the four trustees who voted to table offered a substantive defense of SEDA itself. Cazares, Davis, Levine and Thomas, who is running for Fresno City Council in this upcoming June election, did not respond to requests for comment via phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jonasson Rosas told the district she had no responsive documents to the records request. Wittrup, according to district official Teresa Plascencia, tends to delete text messages on her phone after more than a week. <\/p>\n The board has no guidelines on how long to retain emails and text messages. But legal experts say it\u2019s a problem for officials to routinely delete text messages and aren\u2019t in full agreement<\/a> on whether it\u2019s in violation of state law.<\/p>\n In an interview with Fresnoland, Dyer defended the messages he sent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t intended to be a threat. I worded it in a way as a friendly reminder,\u201d Dyer told Fresnoland. \u201cWhen we start, as government entities, making comments about each other\u2019s operations, all it does is create a divide. And the last thing we need in government today is a divide.\u201d<\/p>\n Dyer said he had learned \u201cat the last minute\u201d that the board was going to take a position on SEDA and had not had an opportunity to meet with trustees on the latest proposal.<\/p>\n But the resolution was not a surprise. It had been two weeks in the making and had already passed the board\u2019s legislative committee.<\/p>\n Board Chair Veva Islas rejected Dyer\u2019s appeal in her own text reply. \u201cAs written SEDA would be detrimental to our district and as such it does require us to oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSad to see for sure,\u201d Dyer replied.<\/p>\n Second peek behind the scenes of mayor\u2019s push for SEDA<\/p>\n The messages are another rare glimpse into how Dyer is working behind the scenes on his march to get the SEDA plan approved.<\/p>\n