Fresno Unified is restoring field trips to the school-year schedule after a wave of criticism from parents, educators and community members over the district’s plan to cut the outings during a deepening budget crunch.
District leaders said Thursday that centrally funded field trips will again be available to students this year, with the Foundation for Fresno Unified Students stepping in to provide financial support.
The shift comes only weeks after Fresno Unified announced it would eliminate about $2.2 million in centrally funded enrichment trips as part of broader budget reductions, according to the Fresno Bee.
Those cuts were projected to impact roughly 40,000 students and threatened to remove district-funded visits to destinations such as the Big Fresno Fair, local pumpkin patches and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
That decision has now been undone.
Superintendent Mao Misty Her shared the update at a Thursday morning news conference, saying the district heard the community’s objections and sought assistance from its nonprofit foundation.
Her also apologized for how families first found out about the planned cuts, saying parents should have been notified directly before the start of the school year.
“While the foundation’s generosity restores centralized field trips for this school year, it does not, however, change the long-term financial realities facing this district,” Her said.
The announcement follows a wave of criticism after the Fresno Teachers Association raised the alarm on social media in late August, asking parents and educators whether they knew the district was scrapping field trips.
The post quickly drew angry responses from community members who argued that field trips can provide experiences many Fresno children may otherwise never get.
The teachers association celebrated Thursday’s reversal, calling it a “COMMUNITY win” and crediting parents, educators, students and community members who pushed back against the cuts.
“Thousands signed the petition. Families spoke out. Educators raised questions,” the association wrote on Facebook.
The group also stressed that while it welcomed the reversal, questions remain about how the district arrived at the original decision and what happens after this school year.
The controversy has unfolded against the backdrop of a staggering financial squeeze at Fresno Unified.
The California school district is projecting an $88 million deficit next year, a figure that has jumped 49% from an earlier February projection. Enrollment is also expected to fall by roughly 1,800 students compared with last year, further squeezing the district’s finances.
Fresno Unified has already moved forward with layoffs and employee “bumping,” with nearly 200 classified employees expected to receive notices involving layoffs, displacement or reduced positions.
Against that backdrop, Her’s six-figure-salary has also become a flashpoint.
According to Transparent California, Her received a reported $386,045 base salary, along with $87,117 in benefits and $40,563 in other pay, bringing the listed total to $513,725.
The compensation controversy has fueled questions about district spending as employees face cuts and popular student programs have been placed on the chopping block.
Despite the field-trip reversal, Her cautioned that Fresno Unified’s financial problems are far from over.
The district plans to establish a Community Budget Advisory Group made up of parents, teachers, students, principals, staff and community leaders. The group will review the district’s finances and make recommendations about future spending priorities.
For now, however, Fresno students get a reprieve.
The field trips are back, but the district’s much bigger financial reckoning is still looming.
