If you’ve been following the saga of Fresno Unified School District at all, you know that the current Board President, Carol Mills, is involved in an ongoing cold war with the Superintendent, Michael Hanson. Hanson just happens to be one of the best School District CEOs in the United States, and nothing makes the teachers unions more angry than competent District leadership.
Mills is a micromanaging proxy for teachers union President Larry Moore, so there is no surprise about the tension. And if Hanson gets run out of town, there will be hell to pay for not only Mills, but the Board members that have been foolishly supporting her in the face of a growing public resentment of her conduct and a grand jury report to back it up..
Now several elected officials have weighed in, with a diplomatic, yet to the point letter, which asks Mills to get her act together. Although I would have like to have seen stronger language, it is gratifying to see that Members of Congress and the State Legislature are paying attention. After all, the are funding this District to the tune of $800 million a year.
Best of all, the letter debunks the "spin" being put out there by the union and others that "only a small band of people have a problem" with the way Mills is conducting herself. Clearly, there is mounting, broad based interest in her conduct as Board President, and in keeping Michael Hanson right where he is in Fresno Unified for as long as possible.