Fresno Unified Delays Vote on $5.7 Million Police Contract as Questions Mount

Fresno Unified School District trustees postponed a decision on a $5.7 million agreement with the Fresno Police Department that would place 26 school resource officers at 26 campuses for the 2026-27 school year.

The contract, funded through the district’s Safety & Security Department budget, was scheduled for ratification but trustees instead moved to table it, allowing more time for questions about the cost and the role of police officers on school grounds.

The debate that unfolded at the meeting reflected competing views of what school safety should look like and who should pay for it.

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Riley Talford, a candidate for the Fresno Unified board, framed the nearly $6 million expenditure as a question of values. “Spending $5 million dollars a year on police contracts is a values decision,” Talford said. “It chooses enforcement capacity over prevention capacity.”

Parent Sandra Celadon questioned whether the district should be paying the police department at all. “As parents and as taxpayers we should not be doubly taxed for services that are already provided and are already paid for,” she said.

Christina Holmes McIntyre, co-founder of the Fresno Community Parent Coalition, pointed to federal research she said shows SROs do not increase campus safety. “The DOJ has several different research reports that show that the presence of SROs on campuses do not increase safety,” Holmes McIntyre said.

Melody Hughes, a retired Fresno Police officer who spent 11 years as the school resource officer at Edison High School, offered a different perspective. She recalled responding to a report of someone with a gun riding a bicycle in front of Edison. “Myself and my probation officer immediately responded to the front, and then found the kid on the bike, got him, got the gun away from his waistband, and it was loaded,” Hughes said.

Hughes argued that an SRO’s value goes beyond emergency response. Spending years at the same school, she said, allowed her to build relationships with students who might otherwise distrust law enforcement. “Some kids don’t trust police officers on the street,” she said. “Although you’re still the same police officer, you’re working in the school. They constantly see you on a day-to-day basis.”

The Fresno Police Department defended the partnership in a statement, saying a strong relationship between the department and the district demonstrates a united front in protecting students and staff. The department said student safety is essential to a productive learning environment and that having a trusted officer on campus plays an important role in overall school security.

Most parents and staff surveyed supported keeping officers on campuses, and students surveyed overwhelmingly reported they would feel unsafe if police officers were removed from their schools.

Several other Central Valley school districts continue or have renewed SRO agreements. Outside the Valley, some California districts have taken a different approach — Natomas Unified School District, near Sacramento, recently ended its SRO arrangement with the Sacramento Police Department and moved to a different school-safety model.

Trustees have not yet made a final decision. The item was tabled to allow additional questions to be answered before a vote on whether to ratify the contract.

The Breakdown

• The proposed agreement would run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and costs $5,729,706.
• The money would come from Fresno Unified’s Safety & Security Department budget.
• The contract would place 26 school resource officers at 26 district school sites.
• Trustees postponed a vote to allow more time for questions about the cost and the officers’ role.

What This Means for You

This decision rests with the seven trustees you elect to the Fresno Unified School District board. How they vote on this contract reflects their judgment about what keeps students safe and what the district’s nearly $6 million in security funding should accomplish. If you have children in Fresno Unified schools, this vote directly shapes the kind of safety presence they experience daily. If you’re weighing candidates for the board, how they answer questions about this contract tells you where they stand on enforcement versus prevention, and on how taxpayer dollars should be spent.

What You Can Do

Fresno Unified trustees have not yet scheduled a vote on the contract. When they do, the meeting will be open to public comment. You can contact the board through the district’s website or attend the next board meeting to make your voice heard before trustees decide.

What to Watch

The $5.7 million figure is significant, but the real question is what it buys. Research cited by community advocates suggests SROs may not deliver the safety gains districts assume they do, while supporters argue the value lies in relationships and immediate response capacity.

The “double taxation” argument raised by parents also deserves scrutiny: if Fresno residents already fund the police department through city taxes, why is the school district paying separately for officers assigned to schools?

Finally, watch how trustees weigh the voices in the room. Parents and staff surveyed largely supported keeping officers on campuses, and students overwhelmingly said they would feel unsafe without them. But surveys reflect how people feel about the status quo, not necessarily whether alternatives might serve them better.