Fresno Vice Principal Placed On Leave After Calling Teens ‘Section 8 People’ And ‘Ghetto Girls’ [Video]

A Fresno school official is under investigation after a viral TikTok video shows him racially profiling three teenage girls.

The video shows Sunnyside High School Vice Principal Fred Veenendaal in a heated exchange with the teens. He is seen speaking to someone on the phone, presumably the police. He is heard on camera saying, “Officers, you got three girls here. Three Section 8 people. Ghetto girls.” 

In the video taken on Sunday, Veenendaal identified himself as a member of the board of directors at the gated community where the exchange happened. The 27-second video does not show what led up to the confrontation or what immediately followed. 

District officials confirmed that Veendendaal was placed on paid leave in connection to the events captured in the video. He’s worked for the district since 2008 and has served as Sunnyside’s vice principal since 2015. Veendendaal makes $139,993 a year, according to the district.

In a statement provided to SFGate, the district said, “We are aware of the video circulating, and the District started an investigation into the matter early Monday.”

“The labels used in the video do not align with the high standards we have for our Fresno Unified leaders and staff,” the statement continued. “Because this is a personnel matter, we will not be able to disclose any resulting information from the investigation. We want to assure our families that having respectful, inclusive, and loving adults serving in our school is of the utmost importance to Sunnyside and our district as a whole.” 

The incident comes as the district is weeks away from the anniversary of a student walkout protesting racism. Students were outraged after a picture of a student in what appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood circulated on social media. Hundreds of students across the city walked out of class while demanding change.