Students Protest Superintendent’s Bonus

Hundreds of Fresno High School students protested in front of their school, then marched downtown Friday, asking why their superintendent had received a bonus of nearly $25,000 when students and other employees were suffering from budget cuts.

Like many other districts across the state, Fresno Unified had to squeeze an already underfunded system a little more this year, increasing class sizes, raising the cost for teachers’ health insurance and cutting jobs. When the school adopted its budget last summer, it had a deficit of $40 million, spurred in part by the state’s $38-billion shortfall.

Students protesting Friday said they were frustrated by what they called the school board’s misplaced priorities.