Last night our Fresno Unified School District meeting of the governing board was adjourned early without having addressed all business because of trustee Major Slatic’s unwillingness to follow parliamentary procedure. Trustee Major Slatic failed to comply with specific sections of the Brown Act and Board Bylaw 9005, which states that, “Board members shall govern responsibly and hold themselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct,” and “Refrain from rude or abusive conduct, personal attacks, or verbal attacks upon the character or motives of other Board members, District employees, or members of the public.” In accordance with Board Bylaw 9121, the board president shall, “Rule on parliamentary procedure,” and when trustee Major Slatic was asked to end his remarks on three different occasions spanning approximately one hour in duration, trustee Major Slatic continued to speak over others, including members of the public, who came to address the board directly during the unscheduled oral communications portion of the public meeting.
Additionally, several remarks were made, both during the meeting and subsequently to media outlets across the city, that represent trustee Major Slatic’s views alone, and do not reflect the views of the district. Furthermore, the district takes no responsibility for the content of trustee Major Slatic’s remarks or the accuracy of his statements.
By way of an example, trustee Major Slatic stated both publicly in the meeting as well as to media members that he had to essentially perform a pre-planned political filibuster because his access to the superintendent’s office was restricted by other members of the governing board. To date, trustee Major Slatic has been seated in office for 141 calendar weeks. Over that same span, he has had 169 face-to-face, prescheduled meetings with either myself as superintendent, David Chavez, chief of staff, or Patrick Jensen, superintendent’s office administrator. This number does not include additional calls, texts, or drop-in meetings that occurred in live time. Many of these meetings involved all three of us as staff, along with deputy superintendent Misty Her.
Trustee Major Slatic also used board/superintendent communications, both last night and in previous board meetings, as a tool to make derogatory comments of specific district staff by name, which is directly in conflict with Board Bylaw 9005. For the record, I am proud of the work our employees do for the district and am profoundly grateful for the dedicated service they provide to our students.
It is noteworthy that trustee Major Slatic did make it known that he intended to speak for 75 minutes during board/superintendent communications in advance of the meeting, which is the reason the board president specifically reviewed the parliamentary guidelines in advance of his remarks. But the reality is that educating students during a pandemic period in which case rates are rising allows no time for political theater to play itself out in the boardroom. We are committed to maintaining our focus on our kids and on our commitment to educate them safely and responsibly.