Setting the record straight is important. Nobody, especially not a large school district superintendent, should misinform an audience when it comes to education. That is unacceptable.

According to the State Center Community College District Interim Chancellor, Bill Stewart, the Fresno Unified School District Superintendent, Mike Hanson provided a crowd of approximately 400 with “erroneous information” about the community college district.

Hanson reportedly stated at the FUSD State of Education Luncheon on Oct. 26, that “a community college system [SCCCD] here locally [is] underperforming both in their training programs and their academic programs.”

Stewart’s response came in the form of a memo in official SCCCD letterhead. In that memo, Stewart attempted to correct the record by refuting Hanson’s comments.

Not before providing the superintendent of the fifth largest school district in California with facts about the college system, Stewart slammed Hanson by stating that 78 percent of FUSD students who come into the community college system are “unprepared”.

Stewart ranked FUSD with the highest percent of unprepared students when compared to the other local school district’s — Clovis Unified School District, Kings Canyon Joint Unified, Madera Unified, Central Unified School District.

Was Hanson wearing his thinking cap while he spoke? Or is he at least knowledgeable in the way the community college system many of his students will graduate into works?

These actions are not acceptable. Being the leader of one of the state’s largest school district should come with full accountability, and it doesn’t seem like it really does.

Who provided Hanson with this information? Did it just seem easier to misinform rather than to take the time to do the research? What was his point?

With numbers that high, Hanson should take a couple of steps back and maybe just maybe, consider fixing his own problems. Community college is not his business, k-12 education is his business and when his students are graduating at a high rate of unpreparedness for college, Hanson needs to see what he needs to do to fix that.

When a high school senior enters the SCCCD or Fresno City College, whose fault is it if they are unprepared? Is it their grade school? Is it their own problem?

The purpose of going to k-12 is not to sit around and wait for graduation day. The purpose is to engage students and put in the effort to ensure they are prepared for college, whether they decide to study across the country at an Ivy League school or simply one block away at FCC.

Why is FUSD sending 78 percent of its students to college unprepared? Who’s responsible?

Hanson should focus on not only his own problem, but on why 78 percent of FUSD’s students are unprepared to go to college.

Image if he focused on having students prepared for college, that 78 percent can probably decrease.

Rather than saying that a local community system is “underperforming”, he should focus on why FUSD students are so unprepared for college.

When Hanson opened his mouth, he also opened a can of worms and should answer the questions presented.