FUSD's inaction is clear, they do not care about the kids they are serving. The elected board members do not care about the needs of voters. Below is a formal complaint sent in August of 2022. True to FUSD's patterns, they spun the narrative to claim the student "misunderstood". I call BS! Just another lie to avoid accountability. It's a crappy approach to running a school district.
The complaint -
This is a formal personnel complaint against Fresno High School current Girls Water Polo Coach Annika Knutson.
My son Daniel Ruiz is a senior at Fresno High School and an aquatic sports athlete. During the last couple of years there have been multiple issues stemming from the lack of support for the FHS Aquatic Sports athletic programs by the FHS Principal and other site administrators. The FHS administration's actions prioritizing the wants and needs of an outside swim club, FAMM, known as the Manatees, have completely eliminated the Echo Aquatics Swim Club that served FHS student athletes with opportunities to gain improved athletic skills related to their sport. The Fresno High School athletic aquatics program was in turn destroyed at the expense of student athletes like my son, his teammates and future program expansion. On September 07, 2021 I sent a letter and received no response from FHS or FUSD.
On October 17, 2021 I sent a follow up and included more FUSD employees, including Superintendent Nelson. I received a call from Brian Wall the following morning. During our conversation he made the commitment to follow through on my concerns and then call me back. I never received a call back or even a response at the very least an email.
Since my first wave of concerns were sent in 2021 the FHS Athletic Aquatics program continues its demise and is replaced with the bare minimum in program support and coaching. The current coaches do not initiate any form of team bonding, fundraising, or community service. Practices are scheduled for again, a bare minimum of hours and days. This is my son's last year in high school and his experiences as an aquatic athlete will be overshadowed by the poor decisions those who are supposed to serve them have made.
To make matters worse, FHS proudly displays the large donation check presented to them by The Manatee’s in 2021 and hired Manatee Coach Annika Knutson to be the 2022 Girls Swim Coach and now the 2022 FHS Girls Water Polo Coach. As the Girls Water Polo Coach afternoon practices are scheduled 4 days a week for an hour each day and no morning practices.
During Tuesday’s practice (August 16, 2022) my son asked if the school team could participate in morning practices, like they had in years past. He was met with a swift response from Coach Annika Knutson who stated emphatically, “morning practices are for masters” referring to the Manatees swim club. This statement and the Manatees current 4 mornings a week schedule place serious restrictions on conditioning and practice times and makes the coaching priorities clear. In what is supported to be a kids first situation. The steps FHS have taken to not only destroyed a high quality school aquatics program, pushed out Echo Aquatics, they have hired a coach for the club that participated in the decimation of the above programs. A coach that will make the outside a club priority over the FHS kids.
So much of this situation has played out publicly, exposing the lack of integrity not only by FHS’s school administration but the district as well. It makes me wonder how many other terrible incidents have happened at the expense of kids' that are swept under the rug with no accountability.
I would like a response in writing from FUSD and actions taken to uphold the district's commitments to equity and access, accountability, and most importantly kids being the priority.
This is a public school district.
Sincerely,
Mercedes Ruiz