Local Leaders Must Put Their Shoulders Into Making Fresno ‘Education City USA’ [Video]

Fresno leaders keep searching for the silver bullet that will make California’s fifth-largest city sparkle.

And they just keep shooting themselves in the foot.

Over the past three decades, our local governments and nonprofits have spent billions of dollars trying to solve challenges such as gangs, blight, low-paying jobs, and affordable housing.

Unfortunately, their efforts are almost entirely directed at treating the symptoms of Fresno’s most glaring deficiency: an underperforming large public school system that over time has become disengaged from the community it is supposed to serve.

When the day comes that Fresno Unified achieves its long-stated goal of producing young people prepared to succeed in the workforce, college, or both, many of the challenges that frustrate us will fade.

Fresno Unified can’t do this alone. Nor should it be expected to.

Over the past couple of months, the district has screened two fantastic documentaries for the public explaining how to improve literacy. Far too many Fresno Unified …