Lack of Spanish language services at Sanger Unified frustrates parents

Parents and community members at Sanger Unified in Fresno County are frustrated by the district’s lack of Spanish language services at board meetings, The Fresno Bee reported.

About 70% of the district’s students are Latino, and the primary language in many of their households is Spanish. But at Sanger Unified board meetings, interpreters are not provided unless requested at least 48 hours in advance and there are also no simultaneous translation devices used at the meetings.

“I don’t understand anything,” Justina Rosales, a mother of six students in the district, said in Spanish to The Bee.

One of the district’s trustees, Va Her, told the Bee that he hadn’t previously heard of those concerns but said he supports the idea of having Spanish translators at meetings.

“The reality is, we live in a very diverse community,” he said. “If that is of a concern, then we, as stewards of taxpayer dollars, should be able to provide that and make sure it’s readily available, whether it’s used or not.”