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Clovis Unified School District, California

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Clovis Unified School District
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Fresno County, California
District details
Superintendent: Eimear O'Farrell
# of school board members: 7
Website: Link

Clovis Unified School District is a school district in California.

Superintendent

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This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Eimear O'Farrell is the superintendent of the Clovis Unified School District. O'Farrell was appointed superintendent on May 30, 2017. O'Farrell's previous career experience includes working as an elementary school teacher, learning director, and principal.[1][2]

Past superintendents

  • Janet Young was the superintendent of the Clovis Unified School District from 2014 to 2017. Young's previous career experience included working as a teacher, principal, and director of school and community relations.[3][4]

School board elections

The Clovis Unified School District Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic districts.


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This officeholder information was last updated on July 7, 2021. Please contact us with any updates.
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Election dates

See also: Clovis Unified School District elections in 2018 and 2020

Members of the Clovis Unified Board of Education are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis every even-numbered year.[5]

A general election was scheduled for November 3, 2020.

Public participation in board meetings

The Clovis Unified Board of Education maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:

All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. All actions of the Board shall be taken openly. The public is invited to attend Board meetings and will be given opportunity to voice opinions. However, the law requires the Board to respect employees’ privacy. Members of the public may feel free to use this time to criticize either the Board or the District as a whole, but if there is a complaint about an individual employee which could result in disciplinary action, the District’s complaint procedure should be followed; or the individual must wait until the Board can schedule a closed session as required by the open meeting laws, including advance notice to the employee.

The Board, as the representative body of the District, wishes to provide an avenue for any citizen to express interest in, and concern for, the District. Accordingly, the Board hereby adopts the following rules concerning public participation at meetings of the Board:
1. Members of the public have the right to place matters “directly related to school business” on the formal agenda of Board meetings:

a. So that the Board and District administrative personnel can adequately discharge their responsibilities, citizens who wish to have items placed upon the formal agenda for consideration at an upcoming Board meeting must make a request to the Clovis Unified School District Office located at 1450 Herndon Avenue, Clovis, no later than one week prior to the date of the scheduled Board meeting.
b. In connection with matters included on the formal agenda by members of the public, the Board reserves the right to:
(1) Determine the order of business as to the discussion and consideration of such items.
(2) Postpone items until a later meeting if reasonable justification for doing so exists.

2. In addition, members of the public also have the right to comment upon all matters included on the formal agenda whether placed there by members of the public or otherwise. In connection therewith, the President of the Board reserves the right to:

a. Limit the discussion of a particular issue
b. Postpone the discussion of a particular item until a later time or later meeting provided that reasonable justification therefore exists.
c. Public comments shall be heard only from individuals physically present at the meeting.

3. Finally, the Board shall take testimony on matters not included on the agenda of a regularly scheduled meeting which members of the public wish to bring to the attention of the Board. This discussion shall occur during the “Public Presentation” portion of the agenda and must be delivered by an individual physically present at the meeting. Individuals wishing to make a presentation must so advise the Board President by completing a “sign-in” sheet prior to the meeting. Individual presentations shall be limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes. Each individual wishing to address the Board is allocated 3 minutes and may NOT give their 3 minutes to another individual. The Board will take no action on such matters at the same meeting at which such testimony is taken. Nothing herein shall limit further discussion on such subject matter at a subsequent meeting of the Board.[6]

—Clovis Unified Board of Education (2014)[7]

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the Clovis Unified School District had an average of $296,412,429 in revenue and $297,667,619 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $222,301,429 in outstanding debt. The district retired $28,673,810 of its debt and issued $39,491,095 in new debt each year on average.[8]

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal
Year
Local State Federal Revenue Total
Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue
2010$125,984,00033.65%$216,921,00057.95%$31,437,0008.40%$374,342,000
2011$123,810,00031.46%$234,714,00059.63%$35,062,0008.91%$393,586,000
2012$114,674,00030.91%$227,731,00061.38%$28,626,0007.72%$371,031,000
2013$120,702,00030.83%$244,982,00062.57%$25,848,0006.60%$391,532,000
Avg.$98,047,95232.88%$178,584,14359.75%$19,780,3337.38%$296,412,429

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

  • Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
  • Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
  • Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
  • Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
  • Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
Expenditures by Category
Fiscal
Year
Instruction Support Services Capital Spending Debt & Gov. Payments Other Budget
Total
Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget
2010$189,753,00052.67%$122,993,00034.14%$28,832,0008.00%$12,205,0003.39%$6,495,0001.80%$360,278,000
2011$183,847,00049.85%$124,825,00033.85%$43,574,00011.82%$10,612,0002.88%$5,907,0001.60%$368,765,000
2012$186,478,00052.56%$124,493,00035.09%$29,689,0008.37%$8,788,0002.48%$5,356,0001.51%$354,804,000
2013$200,026,00050.71%$130,806,00033.16%$49,365,00012.51%$8,596,0002.18%$5,692,0001.44%$394,485,000
Avg.$137,758,42945.92%$92,802,42930.85%$51,145,14317.66%$8,082,9522.67%$7,878,6672.90%$297,667,619

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal
Year
Retired Issued Outstanding
2010$41,173,000$0$282,833,000
2011$39,838,000$7,420,000$250,415,000
2012$29,129,000$0$195,811,000
2013$21,970,000$79,997,000$254,323,000
Avg.$28,673,810$39,491,095$222,301,429

Teacher salaries

Clovis Unified School District employed 1,679 teachers in the 2011-2012 school year.[9] Teacher salaries are categorized based on higher education achievement, professional development and years of service. A teacher with a bachelor's degree can earn higher salaries by pursuing graduate courses with raises at credit intervals. The salary schedule also accounts for graduate degrees by providing higher starting salaries and greater potential salaries.

Teachers at Clovis Unified School District do not have a union. Instead, they have a faculty senate who is in charge of negotiating salary schedules with district administration.[10] The following table details the salary schedule negotiated between the district and the faculty senate for the 2014-2015 school year.[11]

Salary structure
Degree level Minimum salary ($) Maximum salary ($)
B.A. 42,456 50,424
B.A. + 45 43,512 57,297
B.A. + 60 or M.A. 44,568 78,782
B.A. + 75 45,625 80,649
75 + M.A. 46,681 82,516

Academic performance

Proficiency assessments

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[12]

Mathematics

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:[13]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2018-2019 58 68 45 47 45-49 65 66
2017-2018 57 67 41 46 45-49 65 65
2016-2017 56 67 38 45 45-49 63 63
2015-2016 54 64 38 42 40-44 64 61
2014-2015 50 60 34 37 35-39 57 58
2013-2014 75 84 65-69 66 60-79 65-69 80
2012-2013 76 84 63 67 65-69 81 80
2011-2012 74 82 64 65 65-69 80 79
2010-2011 74 81 61 65 65-69 77 78

Reading/language arts

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:[13]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2018-2019 72 78 58 65 60-64 77 78
2017-2018 70 76 55 62 60-64 79 77
2016-2017 69 76 54 60 60-64 73 76
2015-2016 66 72 56 56 50-54 74 72
2014-2015 60 68 44 49 45-49 64 68
2013-2014 75 77 65-69 65 60-79 70-74 83
2012-2013 75 77 63 65 65-69 80 81
2011-2012 77 78 67 68 65-69 84 82
2010-2011 74 76 62 64 60-64 78 80

Graduation rates

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:[13][14]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2017-2018 93 96 90-94 92 ≥80 ≥95 93
2016-2017 94 98 ≥95 92 ≥80 90-94 94
2015-2016 94 97 90-94 91 60-79 ≥95 95
2014-2015 95 97 90-94 93 ≥80 85-89 96
2013-2014 92 95 85-89 90 60-79 ≥90 93
2012-2013 92 95 85-89 89 ≥80 ≥90 93
2011-2012 93 95 85-89 91 ≥80 ≥90 93
2010-2011 93 97 90-94 89 ≥80 ≥90 94


Student enrollment

Year[15] Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2018-2019 43,214 0.3
2017-2018 43,085 0.8
2016-2017 42,727 2.0
2015-2016 41,869 1.7
2014-2015 41,163 0.9
2013-2014 40,782 2.2
2012-2013 39,892 2.7
2011-2012 38,841 0.9
2010-2011 38,493 1.3
2009-2010 38,002 1.4
2008-2009 37,461 8.4
2007-2008 34,561 -6.8
2006-2007 37,101 2.0
2005-2006 36,378 2.9
2004-2005 35,344 2.0
2003-2004 34,663 1.9
2002-2003 34,031 1.8
2001-2002 33,418 2.1
2000-2001 32,717 2.5
1999-2000 31,933 1.4
1998-1999 31,487 1.7
1997-1998 30,960 1.1
1996-1997 30,627 3.7
1995-1996 29,522 3.2
1994-1995 28,604 4.3
1993-1994 27,416 5.3
1992-1993 26,042 5.7
1991-1992 24,638 6.1
1990-1991 23,224 9.0
1989-1990 21,299 9.6
1988-1989 19,436 6.7
1987-1988 18,210 5.8
1986-1987 17,205 -


About the district

Clovis Unified School District is located in Fresno County, California.
Clovis Unified School District is located in Fresno County, California. It is classified as a large suburban school district by the National Center for Education Statistics. The district served 43,214 students during the 2018-2019 school year and comprised 48 schools.[16]


During the 2018-2019 school year, 43.9% of the district's students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 4.9% were English language learners, and 9.1% of students had an Individual Education Plan (IEP).[17]

Racial Demographics, 2018-2019
Race Clovis Unified School District (%) California K-12 students (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.7 0.5
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 16.3 11.7
Black 3.1 5.4
Hispanic 38.2 54.6
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.3 0.5
Two or More Races 3.2 4.5
White 38.2 22.9

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Noteworthy events

Board adopts new dress code policy

In April 2016, the Clovis Unified Board of Education approved an update to the district's dress policy, which had been in place for decades. The policy did not allow boys to wear earrings and required them to have short hair. It also stated that only girls were allowed to wear skirts and dresses. Those requirements were against a law the California State Legislature enacted in 2011 that made "discrimination based on failure to conform to narrow gender stereotypes" illegal, according to The Fresno Bee. The district's new policy eliminated the gender-specific restrictions for hair and jewelry.[18][19]

The approval for the new dress policy came nearly three months after the board voted 4-3 against similar changes in January 2016. Board members Sandra A. Bengel, Betsy Sandoval, Ginny Hovsepian, and Richard Lake voted against the policy change, and a number of district parents voiced their approval of keeping the old policy.[18]

“Just because it’s a law doesn’t mean we need to put up with it. This community is being assaulted from afar with what I believe is an overreaching law regarding gender equity. I believe it’s un-American to run from a fight for a good cause,” said Hovsepian after she voted against changes to the dress policy in January 2016. Those who were in favor of keeping the old policy said there was a link between good grooming and high academic achievement.[18]

Board member Chris Casado, who voted to change the dress policy, said he supported the other board members' opinions. “I think we have potentially left for ourselves some unfriendly future issues that might develop, and I think that our obligation is protecting this district from unnecessary litigation and to follow the law,” Casado said. “If you’re talking about what you believe in your heart and your mind, I agree with everybody up there that voted ‘no’ 100 percent. But that’s not what we were elected to do.”[18]

One person spoke in favor of changing the dress policy at the board's January meeting: school board candidate Isabel Machado. “Honestly, I’m just shocked,” she said. “I heard when I moved out here that this was ‘Clovis,’ and I sometimes still hear that I live in ‘Clovis,’ but guess what Clovis? It’s 2016.”[18]

Abré Conner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said she was shocked by the board's vote to keep the old dress policy. “When schools require a certain hair length only for boys, or say that girls can wear earrings but boys cannot wear earrings, they discriminate and prevent students from learning in an inclusive school climate,” said Conner.[18]

Conner said the ACLU would evaluate their next steps, which could have included a lawsuit. The board's vote to change the policy in April 2016, however, brought it in line with the law.[18][19]

Contact information

Clovis Unified School District seal.jpg

1450 Herndon Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
Phone: 559-327-9000

See also

California School Board Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Clovis Roundup, "Eimear O’Farrell named CUSD Superintendent," accessed November 5, 2019
  2. Fresno Bee, "Q&A with new Clovis Unified Superintendent Dr. Eimear O’Farrell," accessed November 5, 2019
  3. Clovis Unified School District, "Janet Young," accessed November 14, 2014
  4. CUSD Today, "Getting to know new CUSD Superintendent Janet Young, Ed.D. – Part I," accessed November 14, 2014 (timed out)
  5. Clovis Unified School District, "Governing Board," accessed July 16, 2014
  6. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  7. Clovis Unified School District Policy Center, "1101 - Board Bylaws - Board Policy," accessed November 14, 2014
  8. United States Census Bureau, "Public School System Finances: Historical Data," accessed December 1, 2015
  9. Ed Data, "District Reports: Teacher Salaries," accessed November 14, 2014
  10. California Teachers Empowerment Network, "No contracts in Clovis, Snowline, or Warner Springs –," accessed November 14, 2014
  11. Clovis Unified School District, "SCHEDULE A (2014-15) CERTIFICATED SALARY SCHEDULE," accessed November 14, 2014
  12. U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 To protect student privacy, percentages were reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five (5) or fewer students were included in a data set, the data was replaced by "PS."
  14. U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "Four-Year Adjusted-Cohort Graduation Rates - School Year 2017-18 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  15. National Center for Education Statistics, "ElSi tableGenerator," accessed March 8, 2021
  16. National Center for Education Statistics, "Search for Public School Districts," accessed March 8, 2021
  17. National Center for Education Statistics, "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," accessed March 8, 2021
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 The Fresno Bee, "Clovis Unified ready for legal fight over dress code," January 27, 2016
  19. 19.0 19.1 ABC 30, "Clovis Unified Enacts New Dress Codes Changes," April 7, 2016