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Meet Our Leadership Team

We revere Doc’s Charge as not simply a description of core values but also an urgent call to action. It provides us with a collective sense of duty and purpose, and we have the complicated responsibility to root our actions in tradition while we adapt to a rapidly changing world. We can honor those core values while simultaneously embracing that Clovis Unified in 2025 is a very different place than it was in 1985. As we add our sixth area, it is important to remember that continuous improvement depends on our ability to stay true to core principles while embracing necessary change. This is an exciting challenge and one that ACE considers its foundational purpose. ACE leadership and members love working in this district, but we believe maintaining our status as an exceptional place to learn and to educate depends on our ability to grow and to adapt.

Important opportunities for collaboration during the 2025-2026 School Year:

1. Class Size:
   • Elementary: If ACE becomes the exclusive representative for Clovis educators, we can secure enforceable elementary class size limits, protect funding for smaller classes, and ensure every student gets the attention they need to succeed.
   • Secondary: while strides have been made with targeted grade-levels and subjects, class sizes remain the biggest obstacle we face in truly providing “a fair break for every kid.”
2. Classroom Management & Student Accountability:
   • The classroom is a very different place post-COVID, and we need an accountability model that acknowledges the challenges of the contemporary classroom. ACE recognizes the limitations of traditional discipline practices based on punishment and separation, but, at the same time, ACE asserts that half-hearted attempts to implement Restorative Justice and/or PBIS are not working to create the safe communities for teaching and learning that our students and educators deserve.
3. Family Employment Policy:
   • While we acknowledge concerns about supervisors overseeing family members, it is time that the district supports families by eliminating the prohibition against family members working at the same site. While we think it is unnecessary, we also argue that the fact it is inconsistently applied sows distrust and resentment. 
4. Investing in Our Classrooms
   • ACE is committed to securing greater investment in our classrooms by advocating for increased funding that supports both our students’ learning needs and our educators’ ability to provide high-quality instruction.
5. Got a vision for change?
   • Tell ACE your vision and help us work toward a Fair Break for Every Kid in CUSD.

Background on Grade Span Adjustment (GSA)

Grade-Span-Adjustment (GSA) was initiated across California in 2013 to ensure elementary class sizes maintained a manageable teacher-to-student ratio—an average of 24:1 per site in grades K–3. When the GSA was implemented in 2012–2013, districts were given a transition period to adjust budgets and hire staff, with full implementation required by 2018. In return, the state provided additional funding tied directly to achieving and maintaining this ratio.

Under the law, a district could only exceed the 24:1 ratio if it negotiated a collectively bargained alternative annual average class enrollment for each site with a legally recognized teachers’ union. Clovis Unified has never had such a union—only the Faculty Senate, which is not a union and has no legal authority to bargain class size on behalf of teachers. [For teachers who have been here over ten years, did you know we receive funding for K-3 to be at 24:1? Did you know other CA districts bargained to have additional resources if they went over the 24:1 ratio?]

Nevertheless, in 2013, Faculty Senate leadership signed an MOU simply raising the cap to 27 students, followed by another in 2014 raising it to 28. Because these MOUs were not legally valid, CUSD should have followed the 24:1 average in K-3 at every elementary school by 2018.  In 2023, ACE requested a series of meetings with CUSD Administration to share our concerns that the district was out of compliance with the law, mis-using state resources, and putting ourselves at risk of losing funding – not to mention failing our students and our community. When it was clear that admin would remain firm in their position regardless of our concern, we moved on with a clear statement of our concerns.

Board Votes to Uphold Unlawful Class Size Agreement

This June, District Admin invited us to meet and shared that they intended to continue the same policy as with the Faculty Senate MOU, except that they would do so through meeting with Employee Organizations and passing a resolution from the school board. We shared with them our opinion that the law did not allow for it, and asked them to explain their understanding of the policy.  ACE appreciated being invited to the conversation, but we let them know that the process was not meaningful if we weren’t able to get their explanation of how this process fits under the law. We requested the most recent data, discussed the facts, and asked questions. Based on the information they shared and our own research, we observed that the district was misinformed regarding the rules of the GSA. They acknowledged that we were correct – but their misunderstandings were significant. 

ACE was able to inform admin and showed them that the district is actually much closer to complying with the 24:1 ratio than they had thought – and that there was actually no need for them violating the law: They thought incorrectly that the requirement was for each classroom to meet the 24:1 ratio when in fact the requirement is an average for each school-site. They also were unaware that the TK classrooms are part of the formula, thus significantly lowering the average at each site. 

On August 6 of this year, the CUSD Governing Board unanimously adopted Resolution No. 4061, effectively continuing the Faculty Senate MOUs that raised K–3 class size caps to 27—agreements ACE believes violate state law because they were never collectively bargained by a legally recognized teachers’ union. The resolution justifies this higher ratio by citing “good faith efforts” and past discussions with “nonexclusive employee organizations,” but it does not commit to returning to 24:1 nor include resources to offset the impact of larger classes.

ACE’s Concerns

The Faculty Senate MOUs that increased class sizes were not collectively bargained and therefore did not meet legal requirements under Education Code §42238.02(d)(3)(D)(i).

ACE Elementary Vice President Jenny Chavera voiced serious concerns about the district’s current approach to class size funding and Resolution 4061. She cautioned that the district’s actions risk undermining the intent of state resources meant to improve student learning, warning that the policy fails to drive meaningful change and could jeopardize future funding:

• The MOU previously signed and resolution 4061 do not encourage the district to prioritize 24:1 for which this funding is intended. 4061 similarly inspires complacency, is simply status quo, and has no legal precedence. We are concerned that this puts our funding at risk. Most importantly, it doesn’t support our students.
• Though class sizes are not addressed on climate surveys, they’re frequently discussed and very important to students, families, classroom teachers alike, and the PURPOSE of this money.
• Other districts have exclusive collective bargaining between their union and administration in which they would typically make contingencies…for example, if a teacher is over 24:1 or has a combination class, she may receive an additional allocation of materials, copies, or even minutes of IA support for each child over 24 in K-3rd grade classrooms.
• We know there are challenges of busing, space, and cost for additional certificated classroom teachers, but we JUST redrew boundaries and that would’ve been the perfect time to address some of those challenges to attain 24:1. If, in fact, it were a priority.
• We can certainly be more creative once unionized to equitably meet our students’ needs, but we cannot break laws nor the intent of GSA guidelines and risk losing this funding next year. We should comply with the law. Let’s get ALL our k-3rd grade classes to 24:1!
• The district has sidestepped teacher and community input, implementing higher ratios without the protections and accountability that come with union negotiations or legal precedent.
• Larger class sizes have direct negative effects: less individualized instruction, greater teacher workload, and diminished classroom support.

Passing Resolution 4061 maintains higher class sizes without any acknowledgment of 24:1 in Title 1 schools, progress towards 24:1 when the state allows averages in TK-3 to be measured, nor a commitment to future reductions. Measures to protect educational quality—no stipends, no additional aides, no extra prep time, and no commitment to future reductions.

NO one wants this funding to be at risk. Still, ACE appears to be the only group that has researched the Legal Guidance (including from CSBA, California School Boards Association, with which our board just approved membership again) and is willing to implore our district and board to follow the GSA requirements. We are concerned that this resolution was rushed for approval over the summer when few people are paying attention.

Why This Matters – ACE’s Evidence-Based Perspective

• The law requires 24:1 unless a legally bargained alternative exists. Faculty Senate could not bargain, meaning CUSD’s 27:1 ratio may violate the law and jeopardize millions in GSA funding.
• Raising class sizes without bargaining eliminates teacher voice and community accountability.
• A union could negotiate site-based solutions such as stipends for oversized classes, additional aides, guaranteed prep time, and phased-in reductions to return to 24:1
•  CUSD has had more than a decade to align with the law. Resolution 4061 cements a higher ratio indefinitely.

Final Thoughts

This issue goes beyond numbers on a page—it’s about the daily reality in our classrooms and the quality of education our youngest learners receive. K–3 is a critical stage for building foundational skills, and class size directly impacts the time and attention each student receives. The decision to maintain higher ratios without a legally bargained agreement not only risks millions in state funding, but it also undermines both educator voice and student success.

ACE, backed by the California Teachers Association’s proven expertise in law, bargaining, and advocacy, is the only organization positioned to both protect educators’ rights and ensure that decisions like this are made in the best interest of students. With CTA’s resources and ACE’s local leadership, we can hold the district accountable, demand compliance with the law, and push for the smaller, more effective class sizes our students and teachers deserve.

When educators have a real seat at the table, we don’t just follow the law—we raise the bar for what’s possible in Clovis Unified.

If you haven’t already done so, we urge you to sign the ACE union support petition so ACE can become the official representative for all CUSD educators.