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\u201cWe cannot hold parents hostage in poor performing schools. And I believe strongly that if our schools were high functioning, if kids were learning to read and do math at grade level, families would stay. There would be no threat from SEDA. So that\u2019s our job. Our job is to work on improving our schools and our student outcomes.\u201d \u2014 Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup<\/p>\n
The board\u2019s opposition to the potential 9,000-acre expansion of the city of Fresno\u2019s southeastern edge comes as Fresno Unified projects it will lose 1,200 to 1,700 annually students annually over the next seven years. The district loses about $17 million per 1,000 students.<\/p>\n
However, Paul Idsvoog, the district\u2019s chief of operations said, SEDA would contribute just 29 lost students annually for the first five years.<\/p>\n
Trustees voted against 1,547 acres of research and development land for advanced manufacturing which would create jobs, Mayor Jerry Dyer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the life of me I can\u2019t understand it because we have one in four people living below the poverty line,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat it tells me is we have a bunch of uninformed people making uninformed decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FUSD-Fresno-Unified-SEDA-Vote.jpg\")
Fresno Unified trustees vote on resolution opposing SEDA, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
\nDetails of the Vote<\/p>\n
Trustees Susan Wittrup, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, and Claudia Cazares \u2014 citing her employment with the city of Clovis \u2014 abstained from the vote. The three said they abstained because they didn\u2019t think the trustees should vote on city land use decisions. That choice aligned with their previous vote and comments.<\/p>\n
But Keshia Thomas flipped and voted in favor of the resolution after saying she had wished to keep the item in the legislative subcommittee until the city presented updated plans.<\/p>\n
But a \u201cmind was changed,\u201d Thomas said, without identifying who that was. School Board President Veva Islas and Andy Levine serve alongside Thomas on the subcommittee.<\/p>\n
All three voted in favor of the resolution alongside trustee Valerie Davis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is important for us to accept (declining enrollment) and to safeguard from speeding this along or creating a steeper decline. Our responsibility as a School Board is fiscal solvency,\u201d Islas said. \u201cAnything that impacts that is our responsibility to consider and try to prevent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resolution will allow Fresno Unified and Superintendent Misty Her to take a formal stance against SEDA, as the growth area was initially proposed. However, the city is working on plan revisions.<\/p>\n
Some trustees said that SEDA isn\u2019t in their jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a land use issue, and we have locally elected city council members and a locally elected mayor who are in charge of land use decisions,\u201d Wittrup told GV Wire. \u201cI guess I am perplexed as to why the school board should be weighing in on land use decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Veva](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Genoveva-Islas-1-e1712956020994.jpg\")
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\u201cI think it is important for us to accept (declining enrollment) and to safeguard from speeding this along or creating a steeper decline. Our responsibility as a School Board is fiscal solvency. Anything that impacts that is our responsibility to consider and try to prevent.\u201d \u2014 Fresno Unified School Board President Veva Islas<\/p>\n
Related Story: Amid SEDA Jousting, Trustee Islas Says, \u2018Threats From Mayor Do Not Deter …<\/a><\/p>\n Political Motives are Questioned<\/p>\n During a previous meeting, Islas issued a political salvo to Dyer: \u201cThreats from the mayor do not deter me.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, a Fresnoland report<\/a> revealed that Dyer texted trustees in February urging them to reject the proposed SEDA opposition.<\/p>\n Several people brought up the incident, shaming Dyer and urging trustees not to prioritize relationships with politicians and land developers.<\/p>\n Some trustees\u2019 political ambitions were questioned by speakers at the meeting.<\/p>\n In late April, student trustee Jonaven Souksamlane openly questioned if trustees were being motivated by \u201cpolitical interests\u201d while referring to SEDA.<\/p>\n This caused Jonasson Rosas to make a lengthy comment, which she deemed necessary due to her character being called into question.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel my integrity and my position have been maybe misunderstood and misconstrued. For me, this is not politics.,\u201d Jonasson Rosas told GV Wire. \u201cThis is not me taking any position on SEDA or any other planning that the city does.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonasson Rosas previously ran for City Council District 5. Meanwhile, Thomas is running for the District 3 seat.<\/p>\n Arambula Weighs In, Wittrup Responds<\/p>\n Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, spoke against SEDA at the meeting and also went on the attack against trustees.<\/p>\n Without mentioning their names, he alluded to Cazares, saying she shouldn\u2019t allow her employer to prohibit her from acting, and Thomas, saying she shouldn\u2019t allow political aspirations to sway her. He seemingly also made a similar remark about Wittrup, saying she shouldn\u2019t allow who she dates (GV Wire Publisher Darius Assemi) to guide her votes.<\/p>\n Arambula is running for the same city council seat as Thomas.<\/p>\n Said a flabbergasted Cazares from the dais: \u201cI\u2019ve never, in the last 26 years, been shamed publicly for my day job\u2026 why I\u2019m being shamed is beyond me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven more disappointing were the misogynistic comments made by Joaquin Arambula, who given his own personal problems and vast political experience, should know better.\u201d \u2014 Susan Wittrup<\/p>\n Responded Wittrup in a statement to GV Wire:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a sad state of affairs when candidates running for the Fresno City Council need to bully and shame school board members on land use decisions. They don\u2019t have the guts to challenge the mayor or city councilmembers directly.<\/p>\n \u201cEven more disappointing were the misogynistic comments made by Joaquin Arambula, who given his own personal problems and vast political experience, should know better.\u201d<\/p>\n Arambula recently agreed to a preliminary settlement in a messy divorce<\/a> from his wife Elizabeth that generated headlines. Court records also revealed that his wife had raised concerns about the assemblymember\u2019s addictions to cannabis and video games, and made public that he had missed considerable time from the Assembly to enter rehab.<\/p>\n In addition to Arambula and Thomas, a third Fresno City Council candidate, incumbent Brandon Vang, attended the meeting as a \u201cprivate citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n Vang told that board he believes there needs to be \u201cadditional discussions about SEDA\u201d which will have \u201clifelong consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Story: Fresno Unified Trustees\u2019 Political Motivations Questioned Over SEDA …<\/a><\/p>\n SEDA Falls Outside Fresno Unified Boundaries<\/p>\n The 9,000-acre SEDA falls within Clovis Unified and Sanger Unified boundaries. Both school districts have higher state testing scores than Fresno Unified, as well as growing enrollments.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to ask: would we want (the Clovis and Sanger) school boards passing resolutions about decisions that affect us? I think not. We would call that an overreach.\u201d \u2014 Fresno Unified Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot hold parents hostage in poor performing schools. And I believe strongly that if our schools were high functioning, if kids were learning to read and do math at grade level, families would stay,\u201d Wittrup said. \u201cThere would be no threat from SEDA. So that\u2019s our job. Our job is to work on improving our schools and our student outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonasson Rosas echoed this statement and reiterated that trustees should focus on students and improving outcomes. Additionally, she acknowledged that the development plan would increase enrollment in Clovis and Sanger Unified.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to ask: would we want those boards passing resolutions about decisions that affect us? I think not\u201d Jonasson Rosas said. \u201cWe would call that an overreach.\u201d<\/p>\n The trustee mentioned how the Fresno City Council unanimously<\/a> passed the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan<\/a>, which guides growth west of Highway 99. This directly impacts Central Unified, who plans to add four new schools. The item was not met with any community backlash.<\/p>\n In April, Central Unified trustees unanimously approved a resolution to formally oppose SEDA. The decision was praised by community members in attendance. And two trustees, Harman Singh and Naindeep Singh, attended the Fresno Unified meeting to urge trustees to do the same. Naindeep is running for the Fresno City Council District 1 seat.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that anyone in this room truly believes whatever decision you make here today will have any effect on what the city will or won\u2019t do. But what it will do is show your values. It will show where you stand,\u201d Harman Singh said.<\/p>\n![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Elizabeth-Jonasson-Rosas-1-150x150.jpg\")
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(GV Wire Composite)