Fresno school trustee faces resignation calls after admitting false slur allegation

Fresno Unified Board Trustee Keshia Thomas is being urged to step down after she admitted that her 2022 allegation—made on a podcast—that Bullard High School football coach Don Arax called her son a racial slur in 2013 was false. Arax sued Thomas for defamation that same year, and the district has already spent more than $350,000 on her defense. Thomas’s son first signed a sworn statement denying the slur, then later reversed his testimony, claiming he had lied about the incident.

Fresno Teacher Association President Manuel Bonilla said the loss of public trust warrants her resignation. The district announced it is reviewing whether to continue funding Thomas’s legal fees in light of the new admissions. Thomas apologized to Arax and his family, insisting she acted on what she believed at the time and refusing to resign, labeling the resignation demand as undemocratic political pressure.