Trustee Valerie Davis was selected as the new board president in a 5 to 1 vote after Dr. Tony Vang officially stepped down from the position and the board held an election to choose his replacement.
Dr. Tony Vang was noticeably absent from Fresno Unified's final school board meeting of the year Wednesday night as trustees voted to fill his vacant seat.
Trustee Valerie Davis will now take over the position as president. Because she had served as clerk up until this point, she took nominations for her replacement and Cal Johnson was ultimately selected for the job. That means Vang will now be a trustee.
"I don't understand why he's even bothering, he still going to be voting," Anthony Benjamin said. "I wish he wouldn't be voting. I think the school board is going to be held accountable with lawsuits just by the fact he's voting."
Vang came under scrutiny last month after the Fresno County elections office released his voting records and several complaints were filed regarding his residency.
According to California education code, trustees must live in the district they serve and Fresno Unified policy says they must reside in the portion of the district they represent.
Vang's voting records showed he lived and voted from a home in Clovis Unified from 2007 to 2010. His spokesperson told Action News over the phone this was an error on Vang's behalf and he had rented and lived in a home within Fresno Unified the entire time.
"I think when this is all said and done the record will show he has done nothing improper and he resides in the district he represents and we can all move forward, specifically the board move forward in the important work that lies ahead."
The board is now scheduled to break until August. In that time, the California secretary of state's election fraud investigation unit says it will look into whether Vang violated election code. If investigators find evidence of wrongdoing the case could go to the Fresno County attorney's office for prosecution.
According to election code, if Vang is found guilty he could be fined up to $1 thousand dollars and face up to three years in prison. Meantime, Valerie Davis will continue to serve as board president until December.
