Per Fresno Unified policy, the Director of Human Resources can authorize payments of up to $100,000 to non-union employees upon resignation.<\/p>\n
Anything above this amount \u2014 such as the $162,000 severance payment<\/a> made to former communications chief Nikki Henry last year \u2014 needs to be approved by the board.<\/p>\n In accordance with the Brown Act, this action may be taken during closed session, the grand jury noted in the report.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the course of its interviews, the Grand Jury determined that the Board of Education followed the correct procedure in the specific instance that triggered the initial investigation,\u201d the jury said of Fresno Unified.<\/p>\n When news broke of Henry\u2019s severance payment<\/a> \u2014 which followed her resignation on the heels of an AI-related controversy in May 2025 \u2014 the Fresno Teachers Association blasted the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that this settlement will send a message to FUSD employees and the broader community: accountability is not applied equally. When frontline employees make mistakes, they often face swift consequences. But when high-ranking administrators break trust \u2014 even after serious misconduct \u2014 they appear to be rewarded with six-figure settlements,\u201d the teachers union said in a Facebook post<\/a> last July.<\/p>\n Trustee Susan Wittrup also decried the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThis district is run with public money. You cannot keep this information from the public,\u201d Wittrup said, per GV Wire<\/a>. \u201cThose are all Brown Act violations.\u201d<\/p>\n Wittrup also told the outlet<\/a> (owned by her longtime partner, Darius Assemi) that she learned of the deal\u2019s finalization through the media and accused the district of shutting the board out of making the decision.<\/p>\n The grand jury, while dismissing the Brown Act violation claim, said other factors may have exacerbated the district\u2019s unspecified payout situation.<\/p>\n \u201cOutdated job descriptions and a lack of continuity and consistency in its personnel evaluations timeline and process may have contributed to this payout,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n In response, the district said many of the points outlined in the report are being focused on through new goals.<\/p>\n \u201cFresno Unified has begun implementing efforts to strengthen employee evaluation practices, improve consistency in supervisor training, update job descriptions, and reinforce expectations for timely, meaningful, and consistent performance evaluations across employee groups,\u201d spokesperson A.J. Kato said in a statement.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4053.jpg\")