About 1,200 of Fresno County Schools Superintendent Pete Mehas' closest friends gathered Saturday night in the new Exhibit Hall in downtown Fresno to pay tribute to Mehas' 44-year career in education. Among the guests were former Gov. George Deukmejian and Jack O'Connell, the curent state superintendent of public instruction. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a video message that was both humorous and serious.
These kind of events can go on forever, with every politician trying to get face time by offering a resolution or plaque to the honoree. Fortunately, there were few speeches from pols. A well-edited video summed up Mehas' career, which started at Roosevelt High School as a teacher.
Mehas is in the last year of his fourth term as county schools superintendent. A story in today's Bee recounts Mehas' long career, recounting the highs and lows. That includes some questionable hirings and missteps in dealing with union leaders at the county department of education. But the positive parts of Mehas' tenure more than outweigh the negative. He became a statewide voice for education, and that helped school districts in the Valley.
At Saturday night's dinner, it was announced that the building housing the Fresno County Office of Education, located on Van Ness near Fresno Street, will be named for Mehas. That building is only a few doors down from the malt shop run by Mehas' father when Mehas was growing up.
Blog Roll
In The Middle- Blognetnews.com/California
- Bill Bradley's New West Notes
- The Hotline's Blogometer
- Rough & Tumble
- PolitickerCA
- Fresno Bee Opinion Page
- fresnobee.com
- Huffington Post
- Daily Kos
- Red State
- Flash Report
Local Media
On The Left
On The Right