Podcast: FTA President Manual Bonilla discusses the controversy with KMJ’s Broeske & Musson
Podcast: Blake Taylor tore into FUSD and called for heads to roll, if the accusations are true. Cue up to 21:30
Podcast: FTA President M. Bonilla updates KMJ’s Afternoon Drive, demands an investigation
FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — The Fresno Teachers Association is demanding an investigation after they say Fresno Unified’s top spokeswoman used artificial intelligence to compile a list of alleged comments the union has made about Superintendent Misty Her.
The union says a recent document shows negligence by FUSD leadership, but the district says it was never intended for publication.
https://abc30.com/video/embed/?pid=16582246
It’s no secret that the Fresno Teachers Association and Fresno Unified have not been getting along.
KMJ’s News Partner ABC30 Action News has learned the tensions boiled over to a meeting between the union and the district to discuss communications.
At that time, the union was handed a document listing examples of FTA targeting Superintendent Misty in the press, on social media, and through emails to its 4,400 members.
“There was even a suggestion that because of some of the quotes in that document that led to instances of identity-based attacks,” said FTA president Manuel Bonilla.
KMJ’s News Partner ABC30 looked at the digital document and checked the quotes.
One example was their own story about recent board governance changes. The quote listed on the document mentions a “blatant power grab,” but that quote did not appear on the ABC30 website or broadcast.
In fact, none of the quotes listed appear to be accurate. Bonilla noticed the same thing and one other detail about the URL. “I saw something that said ChatGPT, googled what that could mean and found it was generated by a ChatGPT response,” said Bonilla.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence app.
It appears Chief Information Officer Nikki Henry used the app to make the list. Her, Henry and Chief Human Resources Officer David Chavez presented the “dossier” to Bonilla at a May 7 semi-regular meeting
The union’s concern is that it was accepted and presented by Superintendent Her as fact.
“The creation of this document is bad enough. The fact that it seems like AI was used to generate it and potentially used without any type of verification — we wouldn’t accept this from any of our students. We shouldn’t accept it from our leadership,” said Bonilla.
The union is calling for an investigation into this matter and says if no one takes accountability, it is looking into taking legal action, which it says FTA members support.
KMJ’s News Partner ABC30 Action News reached out to Fresno Unified for an interview regarding this, but the district said it will not be releasing any statements at this time.
