FUSD board told of needed repairs

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FUSD board told of needed repairs

Trustees, district officials hear from public ahead of May budget

meetings.

By Louis Galvan

The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/27997.html

The Fresno Unified School District needs to budget money to fix

roofs that leak, swimming pools with cracks, computer systems that

don't work, mold-infested restrooms and generally run-down

facilities throughout many of the district's schools, a series of

speakers told trustees Saturday at a community budget workshop

hosted by the school district.

About 200 people, including about 50 high school students, attended

the two-hour open session aimed at giving Fresno Unified board

members and top district officials input from the community before

the district begins formal budget hearings in May for the 2007-08

fiscal year.

The workshop was held at Royce Hall at Fresno High School in central

Fresno.

Board President Carol Mills, noting this was the first time such

workshops have been held by the district, said she was impressed by

the number of people who showed up.

She promised that board members would do all they could to act on

the community's concerns.

Another workshop, she said, has been scheduled with members of the

Fresno City Council on Friday afternoon, and talks are also in the

works with Fresno County officials.

About 30 speakers — each limited to three minutes — stood before the

governing panel. One by one, they voiced their frustrations about

years of neglect by past administrations and about what they believe

the district needs to do to make its schools better and safer for

students and staff.

Most of the speakers came from Bullard and Fresno high schools'

communities, but the session also drew speakers from Edison High

School.

A large group was made up of members of the Bullard FIG (Facility

Improvement Group) and included Chuck Manock, a local attorney and

1981 Bullard graduate, and Don Arax, Bullard football coach and also

a Bullard graduate.

Manock, pointing to photographs of mold-covered shower rooms and

patch-up repair projects, described some parts of the Bullard campus

as " like looking at a Third World facility. "

Arax is a strong advocate for a football stadium at Bullard and for

better athletic facilities to allow Bullard players to enjoy the

same type of facilities found in Clovis.

" We're looking for hope, " he told the board. " Give our kids a little

hope. "

Fresno High parents noted the cracks in the bottom of the school's

pool and called for a master plan for school maintenance.

Edison supporters said they need a new gym and that a football

stadium at the school is long overdue.

The reporter can be reached at lgalvan@...

or (559) 441-6139.