FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Thousands of Fresno Unified students are starting the 2026-27 school year without one familiar part of their school calendar: field trips.<\/p>\n
The district cut approximately $2.2 million<\/a> in funding for field trips for students in kindergarten through sixth grade as part of broader budget reductions.<\/p>\n The Fresno Teachers Association is now pushing back, arguing that field trips are an important part of students\u2019 education and should not be eliminated because of budget constraints.<\/p>\n FTA President Manuel Bonilla said the cost of restoring the funding is small compared with the district\u2019s overall budget.<\/p>\n \u201cDistrict leaders should understand that field trips, particularly for this cost of $2 million and a $2 billion budget, is a fundamental part of our educational journey,\u201d Bonilla said.<\/p>\n For parents, the cuts could mean students missing experiences they have looked forward to throughout the school year.<\/p>\n Cristina Gutierrez, a mother of three children at Wilson Elementary School, said her kids used to mark field trip days on their calendars.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some kids, education’s boring. This was another way to motivate them,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n Trips potentially affected include visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, local museums and a camping trip that many sixth graders anticipate.<\/p>\n Gutierrez said her daughter had been especially excited about the opportunity to spend time with her classmates and experience something outside the classroom.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was actually looking forward to being in sixth grade and going out with her classmates, and having this experience where mom and dad’s not there, and they are enjoying and learning something different,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n For our accountability question, we asked whether Fresno Unified has reserves it could use to restore funding for field trips.<\/p>\n The district responded that it does not have reserves available for that purpose. FUSD said it made approximately $30 million in budget reductions last year, including cuts to enrichment activities such as field trips.<\/p>\n