Central Unified board appoints new interim superintendent

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the first time in months, Central Unified trustees made a decision that drew applause from the audience. If someone had to replace Superintendent Mark Sutton, parents were glad it was someone from within.

Kelly Porterfield is the new interim leader of the district. He previously served as the assistant superintendent for six years. While his focus is moving the district forward from recent tensions, parents say it's too soon to forget.

"They're not listening, they are clearly not listening, there is a personal agenda it seems when a vote is 4-3, if he had done something seriously wrong it would have been a 7-0 vote," Jonathan Pantages said. "It's no secret in the community that if they don't replace him, they will be replaced by people who support Mr. Sutton who will rehire him."

For the fourth straight board meeting, parents packed the room. Many of them demanded that the board rehire Mark Sutton. At the very least, they wanted trustees to know they're taking action.

Board President Caesar Granda said the board does listen to the input of the community. That is why they named Porterfield as the interim. He explained once again that personnel matters prevent him from explaining why they let Sutton go.

As for when the search for a permanent superintendent will take place, there's no timeline for that yet. But the board president has assured it will be transparent with a lot of public input.