Fresno Unified trustees have passed over a former national superintendent of the year in their search for the district’s next chief executive.

In 2020, the American Association of School Administrators named Gustavo Balderas as the national superintendent of the year for his work with Eugene School District. That year, he also won Oregon Superintendent of the Year. Balderas’ first superintendent position was with the San Joaquin Valley’s Madera Unified.

Balderas did not respond to a request for comment from GV Wire.

In 2020, Balderas participated in an open candidate forum when he applied to become superintendent of Oregon’s Edmonds School District. He said in that forum that he prided himself on increasing graduation rates of Latino students and students in poverty.

Graduation rates for Latino students and children in poverty increased by 19% and 23% for students in special programs during his tenure.

“The one thing that I’m really proud of is the work that we’ve done in Eugene the last few years,” Balderas said, according to Washington news site MLT News. “We been able to close the opportunity gap. Our graduation rates have increased by 14 percentage points because of the systems we’ve put in.”

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Trustees Prioritizing Candidates from Large Districts

GV Wire learned the names of the four finalists — including Balderas and Fresno Unified interim superintendent Misty Her — in the district’s superintendent search. The others were Thomas Ahart, a former longtime superintendent of Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools, and Andraé Townsel, superintendent of Calvert County Public Schools in Maryland.

Multiple sources confirmed to GV Wire that trustees have begun negotiations to hire Her. However, Fresno Unified spokesperson Nikki Henry rebutted that, saying that a selection cannot be made until the board takes action via a vote. Henry also said it was inaccurate to call anyone a “finalist.”

And, trustee Keshia Thomas said on Alexan Balekian’s “Sunday Conversation” on KMJ radio that there were no negotiations with Her “at the moment.”

In that same appearance, Thomas acknowledged the district’s academic failures, saying “We have not been student driven. We have not been outcomes driven. We’ve been messy, and that’s the real truth.”

Editor’s Note: In the chart below showing academic achievement for students in the finalists’ districts, the year 2019 was chosen because those results reflect performance before the COVID pandemic, which resulted in learning loss across the country. The 2024 results are the latest available. 

Fresno Unified board president Valerie Davis said the decision on the next superintendent would likely be announced at trustees meeting on Wednesday, April 23. She said in an email to GV Wire they are prioritizing candidates from large school districts. Davis did not respond to follow-up questions.

“Leading the third largest district in the state requires someone who has worked successfully in a very large district,” Davis wrote in the email. “For everything that has been coming out of your GV Wire, I don’t think anyone has ever thought of the most obvious qualification. Size and success matters.”

Board members and community members previously stated they want someone who understands the diversity of the Central Valley.

There is no salary range listed in job posting for FUSD’s superintendent, but Nelson made $426,757 in pay and $99,066 in benefits in 2023, according to Transparent California.

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Trustees Want Confidentiality. Others Seek Transparency

Board members and district administration stressed confidentiality of applicants despite search firm McPherson & Jacobson LLC telling board members on Feb. 12 that once candidates are finalists “there’s no holding back.”

“Once you’re a finalist, there’s no holding back,” Ben Johnson, spokesperson for McPherson told the board in that meeting. “You’ve put yourself out there, you’ve said you’ve got to be able to contact all people to be able to give an assessment, good and deserving about your candidacy.”

However, Johnson recently told GV Wire that the finalists’ names shouldn’t have become public.

Of note: Fresno Unified required former Superintendent Bob Nelson to disclose if he ever became a finalist for employment outside the district.

Community members and Fresno Unified employees have called for an open forum since it was announced the district needed a replacement for Nelson, who retired last summer.

In a districtwide notice to employees, one teacher said a community forum would ensure transparency.

“Respectfully, the board can’t hide behind ‘confidentiality’ in the process and then say they’re being transparent and ensuring the community’s concerns have been brought into consideration,” one teacher said on FUSD’s forum board. “How are we supposed to believe that? There’s no accountability.”

National Superintendent of the Year Is Son Of Mexican Immigrants

Balderas is the current superintendent for Beaverton School District, which enrolls 37,459 students across 54 schools in a Portland suburb.

The first-generation son of Mexican immigrants, Balderas often emphasizes learning for students in poverty, especially those overcoming language barriers, according to news articles and podcasts.

“I understand firsthand some of the barriers that students face in Beaverton schools — those in poverty and those navigating a new language and culture. These experiences will help me connect with students and families and help identify ways to meet the needs of our students furthest from educational justice,” Balderas told KGW8 in 2022, when he was selected for the superintendent at Beaverton.

Balderas was superintendent at Madera Unified from 2011 to 2013.

Since 2011, he has been superintendent of five school districts.

Iowa Superintendent Focuses on Equity, Balanced Budget

Former superintendent Thomas Ahart spent 14 years at Des Moines Public Schools, which is Iowa’s largest school district and had 31,000 students at the time. He served as superintendent for 10 years.

The Des Moines Register reported that the Des Moines school board decided not to extend his contract past 2023. Ahart left one year ahead of his contract end date.

Ahart did not respond to a request for comment.

In his letter of resignation, Ahart stressed his focus on equity. About 76% of students at Des Moines schools receive free or reduced lunch. Students there speak 83 languages and come from 109 nations, he said.

“We implemented standards-based grading, redrew district boundaries, made every school a school of choice, increased enrollment in Advanced Placement courses, and dramatically shifted the composition of the student body attending Central Campus and Central Academy,” Ahart said in his letter.

In his tenure, all of the district’s 40 portable classrooms became permanent, he pointed out in his letter. He also kept the district’s budget balanced.

Ahart has been a consultant with the Council on Great City Schools for the past 10 years, focusing on improving student outcomes. Fresno Unified is a member of Great City Schools, which brings together 78 of nation’s largest urban public school systems in a coalition dedicated to the improvement of education for children in the inner cities. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Calvert County Public Schools Has Highest Literacy Rate in Maryland

Another finalist for FUSD’s top position, Andraé Townsel, started as superintendent of Calvert County Public Schools in Maryland in July 2022. Townsel recently applied for superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, where he was a finalist.

In a public forum, the Howard University graduate talked about his literacy plans and how Calvert County — enrolling 15,461 students — has the highest literacy scores in the state, according to Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

Townsel said the district achieved that rate because of “attention to detail and investment in the science of reading.”

In contrast, Fresno Unified is significantly behind other Valley and California school districts in literacy, as well as math.

Fresno Unified Interim Focuses on Attendance, Narrows Goals

Whereas Fresno Unified had nearly 170 educational goals last year, Her — the only finalist who hasn’t been a superintendent — told GV Wire said she wanted to focus on four major goals.

“We have to be great at a few things. And I think what the board has allowed us to do for the first time in Fresno Unified is to go from very big to now, very narrow,” said Her.

Here is a look at the district four major initiatives:

— 1st-graders proficient in literacy will increase from 48% in June 2024 to 80% by June 2030.

— Students graduating from high school college and career-ready will rise from 43% in June 2024 to 64% by June 2030.

— 3rd- through 8th-grade students more than one year behind in English Language Arts and who make more than one year’s growth will increase from 10% in June 2024 to 50% by June 2030.

— The district will track 6th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students for Portrait of a Learner competencies with a percentage goal set soon for June 2030.

Before being appointed interim superintendent, Her served as deputy superintendent for Nelson.

As interim leader, she has taken steps to reduce the number of students who are chronically absent. Students who are chronically absent struggle to learn, and their repeated absences result in the loss of state funding.

Related Story: Has Fresno Unified Finally Planted the Flag for an Academic Revolution?

“We have to be great at a few things. And I think what the board has allowed us to do for the first time in Fresno Unified is to go from very big to now, very narrow,” said Her.