Fresno Unified’s $162K resignation payout shows ‘sloppy governance,’ trustee says

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A former Fresno Unified employee who quit “voluntarily and irrevocably” will still receive a $162,000 payout, a move that is generating controversy for the school district.

Former Chief Communications Officer for the Fresno Unified School District, Nikki Henry, officially left that position on June 26. The move came after she admitted to using artificial intelligence, or AI, to create a document with fabricated quotes that allegedly negatively portrayed the Fresno Teachers Association.

But one member of the school board says she will not remain silent on the issue.

“These are the kinds of antics that keep our children failing because they distract and interfere with the real work of the school district,” said Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup, who represents the Bullard High School region.

Wittrup says she’s not happy with how the rest of the board and members of the district leadership are handling the response to Henry’s settlement agreement.

Fresno Unified School Board Trustee Susan Wittrup says it was last week when she received an email saying the board is not going to vote on this issue because the board already gave unanimous authority to the Chief of Human Resources to negotiate the deal. She says that instruction took place during a closed session meeting on June 18th. 

Wittrup says she expected board members would be briefed and updated on the negotiations, but says that never happened. Wittrup says it means the $162,000 settlement is final without a vote.

“That makes me feel like there’s something shady going on. That is not our practice,” Wittrup said.

Wittrup alleges that this could even be a violation of California’s Brown Act, which requires certain public oversight of legislative bodies. She describes it as “sloppy governance” and the situation could have been improved with a vote on the matter during the upcoming August 13th meeting. 

“The hardworking taxpayers have a right to know how their money’s being spent.”

Wittrup is even wondering if this is an attempt to cover something up – and keep an outgoing executive quiet.

Meanwhile, the teachers’ union says the amount of money Nikki Henry is getting is ridiculous.

“For that amount of money, you could get two teachers in the classroom, impacting the lives of many of our students instead. Somebody that did something wrong, admittedly, is going to get rewarded $162,000,” said Fresno Teachers Association president Manuel Bonilla.

YourCentralValley.com reached out to the district for comment on this matter, and they referred us to an email sent from the district’s human resources to employees clarifying what happened.

Clarifying Personnel Matters and Due Process

In response to questions about how the District handles personnel actions, I wanted to provide some additional information to add context to District decision making.  In the State of California, public employees generally have a protected property interest in their employment. This means that public employees cannot have their jobs or pay taken away without due process. In cases of termination or demotion of public employees, generally due process includes a series of procedural protections outlined in the Education Code, Board Policy, and if the employee is represented in a collective bargaining agreement. Those due process protections can include a series of hearings, written documentation, and, in some instances, can end up looking similar to a court case. To avoid the significant costs of those procedures and the uncertain outcomes of those hearings, sometimes public employers with the Board’s authority enter into resignation agreements with employees. After the employee accepts the terms of the settlement agreement, the agreement is final pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9.
 
The District is looking forward to the new school year and the further implementation of the Board’s Goals and Guardrails to achieve positive student outcomes. We are also committed to having honest conversations with employees, parents, and community members on how we can keep them best informed about what is going on at Fresno Unified. We thank you for your continued partnership.
 
Sincerely,
David Chavez
Chief of Human Resources

YourCentralValley.com also reached out to the other Fresno Unified Trustees for their comment on the matter. The other trustees either did not answer our requests for comment or said they could not speak to us on this matter.

The full agreement between the Fresno Unified School District and Nikki Henry can be viewed by clicking here.