Fresno County school chief candidates outline positions on AI, literacy and phone limits

A race shaped by schools’ biggest pressures

A public forum for the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools race highlighted how local education leaders are trying to respond to several overlapping challenges at once: uneven academic recovery, persistent reading struggles, shifting enrollment, and the rapid arrival of artificial intelligence in schools. Hosted by The Maddy Institute, the event featured incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher, former Clovis Unified superintendent Eimear O’Brien, and Parlier Unified assistant superintendent Johnny Alvarado, each laying out what they would prioritize if elected to lead the county office.

Literacy emerged as the sharpest dividing line

The strongest point of urgency centered on early reading. Cantwell-Copher emphasized student gains made during her tenure and argued that Fresno County has posted some of the strongest growth in California. O’Brien and Alvarado, while acknowledging improvement since the pandemic, focused more directly on what they described as a continuing literacy crisis. O’Brien said roughly 60% of third graders are not reading at grade level, while Alvarado said that for more than a decade about 55% of Fresno County students each year have not demonstrated grade-level reading and writing performance, even as math performance has been comparatively stronger.

“About 60% of our third-graders aren’t reading at grade level. That’s unacceptable,” O’Brien said. “My top priority is every child reading by third grade.”

For Fresno and the broader Central Valley, that emphasis is especially significant because county leadership often shapes how districts coordinate support, training, and intervention strategies across a region where schools serve large and diverse student populations. The debate suggests that literacy is likely to remain a central benchmark in the campaign, not just as a classroom issue but as a broader measure of whether local systems are helping students recover from long-running learning setbacks.

Enrollment and attendance remain practical concerns

The candidates also addressed the financial and community consequences of changing attendance and enrollment patterns. Because school funding is closely tied to average daily attendance, falling enrollment can eventually force difficult decisions, including campus closures. Alvarado said closures can sometimes become unavoidable but argued that districts need to involve communities early and examine why families are leaving. Cantwell-Copher said countywide enrollment has not shifted dramatically overall, though some districts, including Fresno Unified, have been losing students as families relocate within the county. O’Brien pointed to the kind of long-range planning used in Clovis Unified, including analysis of birth rates, construction, and enrollment trends, as a model for avoiding more disruptive decisions later.

The conversation also touched on fears tied to federal immigration enforcement, with all three candidates stressing that schools must remain places where families feel safe and informed. That matters in Fresno County because school climate, trust, and family engagement affect whether students consistently attend class, and attendance in turn affects both learning and district finances.

AI is no longer optional in school leadership

On technology, the candidates were largely aligned on one point: AI is already part of education, and school systems cannot afford to ignore it. O’Brien and Alvarado argued that local districts should establish clear boundaries for how AI is used, while O’Brien also stressed the need for teacher preparation so educators can use the tools ethically and effectively. Cantwell-Copher described the county office as already embracing AI, saying it is being used both to improve administrative efficiency and to help educators become more comfortable using it in instruction, with safeguards for students.

That position is important for the technology conversation in the Central Valley because county offices often help smaller districts interpret new tools, set expectations, and share training resources. In practical terms, the forum suggested that the next superintendent will likely influence not only whether AI is adopted, but how responsibly it is integrated—whether as a productivity tool for staff, an instructional aid for teachers, or a regulated technology students must learn to use carefully.

Phone restrictions add another technology test

The candidates also discussed classroom cellphone limits in light of Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act. California law requires school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to develop and adopt policies limiting or prohibiting student smartphone use by July 1, 2026. At the forum, all three candidates said any local policy will work only if students, parents, teachers, and administrators all buy into it.

Taken together, the debate showed that the superintendent’s race is not only about administration; it is also about how Fresno County schools will define academic recovery and govern new technology. The next county leader will face pressure to improve literacy, steady enrollment, reassure families, and build rules for both AI and student devices at a moment when digital tools are becoming more embedded in daily schooling across California.

Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Education Desk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.

Source

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article315256320.html