Fresno Unified paid more than $2.7 million because of trustee Brooke Ashjian’s conflicts of interest with local construction companies during his first and only term on the school board, according to district documents.
A bulk of that cost came after the school district was forced to rebid a building project for Figarden Elementary in 2016 and again in 2017 because the originally selected construction firms had a “prohibited interest” with Ashjian and his company, according to information received from a public records request filed by The Bee.
The price could ramp up even more: Fresno Unified has had significant legal expenses, but attorneys would not release those numbers, citing laws that protect attorney-client privilege in pending litigation.
