Miguel Arias
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Job: Current Fresno City Council Vice President<\/p>\n
Age: 48<\/p>\n
Residency: Born in Mexico, raised and lives in Fresno<\/p>\n
Key Endorsements: Assemblymember Esemaralda Soria, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, Former Mayor Alan Autry, Iron Workers Local 155, Carpenters Union, Local 701, IBEW Local 100, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local. No. 1027, Sheet Metal Workers 104, Painters Local Union 294, Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte<\/p>\n
What are your priorities for the position?<\/p>\n
Arias wants to focus on fiscal responsibility and safety reform in response to deaths on Fresno Unified campuses, saying that cuts are only further weakening the district\u2019s ability to respond to emergencies and offer students specialty programs.<\/p>\n
Arias wants to prioritize the district\u2019s programs and athletics for students in order to draw in families into the district and compete with nearby school districts.<\/p>\n
Arias said he wants to address mismanagement in Fresno Unified, saying the district\u2019s communication with the community hasn\u2019t been transparent enough on issues like budget cuts and school closures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, it will tear down the quality of life and the value of that neighborhood, because schools are the hub of a good neighborhood and that’s what’s coming extremely near soon to us as a community, is closure of schools,\u201d Arias said, adding, \u201cespecially of our neighborhood schools, because of the financial, academic, and programmatic mismanagement of the district, and all I see is people pointing the finger at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
How will you improve district communication?<\/p>\n
Arias said that part of the communication issue at the district is a disconnect between leaders and everyday operations and that leaders don\u2019t want to share information that paints them negatively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arias explained there needs to be follow-up responses to let community members know the district is aware and actively working to resolve issues or emergencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’re not looking at it from my perspective as a parent, a body was discovered, nobody was held accountable,\u201d Arias said, referring to the discovery of a deceased person<\/a> at Fresno High earlier this year.<\/p>\n How do you want to address the district\u2019s current levels of enrollment, average daily attendance and chronic absenteeism?<\/p>\n To bring families and students back, Arias says he wants to focus on academic and athletics opportunities for students.<\/p>\n \u201cYou find yourself in this constant debate of whose fault it is, while the real challenge is a lack of strong academic programs and rigor, which is leading to the exodus of the district.\u201d<\/p>\n Arias emphasized that the district is addressing absenteeism the same way it would tackle truancy, saying that the real solution is to bolster support in the classroom and improve the quality of instruction.<\/p>\n How will you approach labor negotiations for the district?<\/p>\n Arias said that wants to be honest with labor unions about staffing needs the district can realistically meet without damaging student achievement.<\/p>\n \u201cLabor unions have an important role to advocate for their members, to negotiate contracts in the interest of their members; the board of education has a much more important task, which is to look out for what’s best for kids and engage in the fiduciary duty of the system and ensure that we’re providing the best possible service of public education to every single resident.\u201d<\/p>\n What is your approach to cuts at the classroom level?\u00a0<\/p>\n Arias said that the district needs to make cuts at the administrative and central office level first before touching anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said he wants to support rigor in the classroom and avoid closures or any impacts to schools that would then cause reverberations in their respective neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve been very crystal clear that our campaign is about saving neighborhood schools, and the way to save neighborhood schools is to improve them and offer an educational service that has residents and neighbors sending their kids there.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have any plans to invest in the district\u2019s athletics?<\/p>\n Arias said he wants to improve athletics opportunities and facilities for students. Additionally, Arias says that the district needs to be more involved in engaging the community through sports, like through recreational leagues or frameworks seen in Clovis Unified.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be attracting the best coaches and all sports.\u201d<\/p>\n Who donated to their campaign?<\/p>\n County campaign documents show that Arias\u2019 campaign received the following donations:<\/p>\n Juan Arambula – $5,000 Rizpah Bellard Job: Rancher and educator<\/p>\n Age: 32<\/p>\n Residency: Lives in Fresno<\/p>\n Key Endorsements: EIU Local 521, Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings California Labor Council) Fresno Teacher\u2019s Association, Pastor DJ Criner, NWPC, State Center Federation of Teachers (AFT Local 1533), Vida Luna Housing<\/p>\n What are your priorities for the position?<\/p>\n Bellard wants to focus on early childhood literacy to get kids reading by the age of 5 and to strengthen\u00a0 connections between the district and the community.<\/p>\n Bellard also wants to get more parents and community members to engage with the board, something she says she can do by showing up for the community to get others involved.<\/p>\n \u201cShow up to something; be a part of something, come to something that really does it,\u201d Bellard said, adding \u201cyou can see a difference in academic outcomes in just school sites alone.\u201d<\/p>\n How will you improve district communication?<\/p>\n Bellard wants to have quarterly meetings in her area and let families and students share feedback with her, saying that not everyone can show up to board meetings to learn or respond to district decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever progress reports come out, to have sessions or get-togethers with community members, different languages in different areas that are accessible to folks either on the bus line or within a walking distance in their community so they can come and talk and just ask what’s going on and what are they seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n How do you want to address the district\u2019s current levels of enrollment, average daily attendance and chronic absenteeism?<\/p>\n While Bellard did not list any specific plans on addressing enrollment, she said that she wants to hear from community members at school sites to understand the unique issues that are causing families to leave the district.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think anybody really knows, you can talk to five different families that have taken their kids out and you have five different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Bellard also said that chronic absenteeism could be reduced by offering support for parents in early grades, saying that parents of young children could be helped with things like transportation.<\/p>\n How will you approach labor negotiations for the district?<\/p>\n Bellard said everyone wants to support students and said she would listen to staff and be honest about what the district can do for employees without hampering student safety or academics.<\/p>\n \u201cI think for me, keeping that in the back of my mind, that the bus drivers might strike, but they always want to make sure that the students are going to get to school safe and get back home safe.\u201d<\/p>\n What is your approach to cuts at the classroom level?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Bellard said that she would want to understand the budget and listen to experts to make decisions that put the district and student achievement first.<\/p>\n Do you have any plans to invest in the district\u2019s athletics?<\/p>\n
\nCar Master Inc. – $1,000
\nFresno Plumbing & Heating – $10,000
\nSusan Wittrup for FUSD Trustee Area 7 – $10,000
\nSoria for Senate 2026 – $2,000
\nBrooke Ashjian – $1,000
\nAmalgamated Transit Union Local – $1,000
\nBrad Hardle – $1,500
\nAugie Perez – $1,000
\nSterling Hartel Developments I, Inc – $1,000
\nYouth Save Democracy – $10,000
\nFresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare Co. Building Trades Council – $1,000<\/p>\n
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