Months of tension within the West Park Elementary School District boiled over Monday night with shouting matches between the public and the school board and at least two physical altercations that ended with Fresno County sheriff’s deputies interviewing witnesses.
West Park, a single-school district with fewer than 600 students just southwest of Fresno, has been embroiled in a series of increasingly bitter disputes between school board supporters and critics in recent months. Dozens of employees have left the district since September amid disagreements over the district’s operation from the classroom level to the superintendent’s office, which has been occupied by three people since December.
At least some of those lingering issues came to a head around 8:30 p.m. on Monday when deputies responded to a 911 call concerning a squabble outside the West Park Elementary School Board meeting.
Nobody was arrested, and neither side wanted to press battery charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses told the Ed Lab that the altercation started in the elementary school cafeteria, where Monday’s school board meeting was held.
Several parents had been yelling and demanding answers from the board during the meeting, despite requests from the board president that the meeting maintain order. Juan Benavidez, the husband of board Trustee Anna Benavidez, said he told the parents to be quiet.
That sparked a confrontation with one of the parents as the board headed into closed session.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Botti said witnesses and security camera footage confirmed a parent approached Juan Benavidez, pointed a finger in his face, and grabbed his arm. Botti said Benavidez “pulled away,” and the altercation ended.
Investigators said Benavidez then called his granddaughter, who immediately came to the school. The granddaughter got into a second tussle outside with the same woman, Botti said.
Benavidez said he left the meeting after the initial altercation with the parent as he “was not there to confront anybody” and didn’t want things to escalate.
In interviews with The Bee, both sides of the conflict accused each other of instigating the confrontation.
The schoolyard clash between adults capped a long, tense meeting that included dozens of parents, community members, and current and former employees voicing concerns during an emotionally charged public comment period.
Many speakers said they were concerned with recent turnover at the district, which fired two superintendents during the school year and lost as much as a third of its staff, according to West Park Elementary School’s teachers’ union.
“This is the first time one of my kids had three teachers in one year,” one parent said. “I’m worried (if) she should even go here.”
The employee turnover has been keenly felt by the remaining staffers stretched thin with extra responsibilities and the underserved students still struggling with the academic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, The Bee’s Ed Lab reported previously.
Board President Kimberly Vivenzi has defended the board’s handling of the superintendent’s office, saying the board has followed all appropriate laws in its proceedings.
Vivenzi on Monday called for order several times during the meeting amid repeated outbursts from members of the crowd.
She responded to some of the public’s questions and denied some of their claims while encouraging them to refer questions to the district’s acting superintendent, Darrell Yates.
After the meeting, she told the Ed Lab that many of the parent criticisms and concerns started under a “previous administration.”
“My children have been on this campus for many years. And they’ve had a revolving door with teachers ... for a long time. So it’s not anything that’s new,” she said.
Botti said school officials asked about having a deputy attend West Park’s next school board meeting.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 3:05 PM.
