Fresno Unified School Board hires search firm, determines criteria for next superintendent

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Unified School District is making moves to find its next superintendent.

After discourse among the board last year, this year the trustees are taking a new approach.

This week, the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education officially hired McPherson & Jacobson, LLC, to help find the next leader of the third-largest school district in the state.

The firm will cost the district just over $34,000 for the search.

The search for a new superintendent has been ongoing since Spring of last year when Superintendent Bob Nelson announced he'd be leaving the position.

But after allegations of a "rigged" report and discourse among the trustees, the board decided to name Deputy Superintendent Misty Her as Interim Superintendent and put the search on hold.

It was a pause FUSD Chief Communications Director Nikki Henry says was beneficial.

"After that discourse it really did allow them to slow down, step back, get some really important coaching and training and really focus," Henry said.

Since then, the board has received training and coaching from Council of the Great City Schools.

According to the CGCS's website, the Council of the Great City Schools "brings together the nation's largest urban public school systems in a coalition dedicated to the improvement of education for children in inner cities."

Henry says the board has shifted to a Student Outcomes Focused Governance.

Through that, they've been able to develop and approve new goals for the district and guardrails on how to reach those goals.

They've also developed and approved criteria for what they want in the next district leader.

Henry says it's a different approach than the board has taken in the past.

"It's finding the person who can step in and deliver on these goals. We don't need someone to come and tell us what the goals are, they're already there. We need them to step in and deliver," Henry said.

This week, the board passed criteria the next superintendent is required to meet including:

• They must have previous district-level leadership experience.


• They must have experience with a diverse population similar to Fresno.


• They can't be a part of pending criminal litigation.

Candidates will be asked around a dozen screening questions including:

• Their experience with Student Outcomes Focused Governance


• Their experience in creating open doors for students to enter into the technical/vocational career field well prepared


• Whether they can speak, read, or write in a language other than English

The job posting is expected to go up this month.

The board hopes to begin interviews in March and select a finalist in April.

The district hopes to approve the superintendent contract and name the next superintendent in May.

The Fresno Teacher Association President Manuel Bonilla says teachers are waiting to see who will lead the district

"What teachers are looking for is somebody that's actually going to make decision based off the realities of the classroom," Bonilla said.

While he says the FTA isn't opposed to an internal candidate, they want someone who will make a difference.

"We hope that whoever that next person is that they're a person of action and they're going to get things done, again, accountability, academics, safety, but we're just not seeing that here and now. We're hope that we're seeing that in this process though," Bonilla said.

Henry says the district believes the board is in a good place to hire someone who can accomplish the ambitious goals the board has created.

"They're going to be able to find someone who can deliver on these goals, not just someone who looks good on paper," Henry said.

The district has created a website that lists all of the goals and guardrails the board has created.

It also has a timeline of what people can expect from the board through December of 2028, including the superintendent search.

Officials say it will be updated as things change.

You can view that webpage by clicking here.

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