Douglas County superintendent hire has extensive criminal, mismanagement history; lied on application
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Wed, 02/07/2024 - 11:53am
On Tuesday, the Douglas County School Board voted to offer the position of superintendent to John Ramirez, Jr. despite public outcry and the revelation of his extensive criminal and mismanagement history.
Investigations against Ramirez include mismanagement of district funds, sexual harassment, DUI, and hit and run, among others.
Less than a year ago, Ramirez was terminated by the Stockton Unified Board of Trustees as superintendent emeritus after he was placed on leave for the DUI arrest.
Ramirez had resigned as superintendent after a year of serving in the position, stating at the time he needed to care for his elderly parents. However, less than a month later the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury released a report indicating Ramirez had mismanaged finances at the school district.
Ramirez had continued to be paid for his superintendent emeritus position while reporting to the school board and assisting in transition duties when he was arrested for DUI in August 2022 and subsequently placed on leave. His contract was terminated shortly after.
When he was arrested, he had a blood alcohol level of .225 percent.
In February 2023, a state auditor report revealed more evidence of fraud at the school district after Ramirez pushed a $7.3 million contract for air purifiers while bypassing board policies and procedures, and sent the district’s former Chief Business Official a “hostile and threatening letter” regarding her allegations of financial manipulations.
Prior to this, Ramirez resigned as superintendent of the Alisal Union School District after multiple district scandals. He admitted using district credit cards for personal use including restaurant meals and holiday purchases, and that sexual harassment complaints had been filed against him by two former district employees alleging that “strong-arming, groping, touching and verbal bullying” had occurred.
Around the same time, the Alissal Teachers’ Union also cast a vote of no confidence for Ramirez.
Ramirez also had a censure of his teaching credentials after pleading no contest to a charge of hit-and-run. During the Douglas County School Board meeting, Ramirez denied having pled no contest to hit-and-run charges, but a search of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shows that he received a public reproval (defined as a public warning that conduct is not appropriate for a credential holder) effective in 2007 that indicates he received a punishment for an incident around that time period.
There has been a significant amount of media coverage regarding Ramirez’s history in California, including his criminal history and allegations against him professionally, but none of this information was provided by Ramirez in his application for Douglas County Superintendent.
Specifically, Ramirez left off his DUI arrest from his application. Ramirez called this an “oversight.”
During the meeting, Trustee Linda Gilkerson said she was concerned about Ramirez had left this information off his application.
Also in the application, his previous employment disclosures did not indicate any issues that led to his resignations and terminations. For each “reason for leaving,” Ramirez wrote “took another position,” or “resigned with district contract buyout.”
When asked to disclose why he had been terminated, asked to resign from a position, or resigned to avoid termination, he simply wrote “District bought out my contract.”
When asked if he has ever been convicted of a criminal offense, Ramirez selected “no.”
“He lied on his application,” Gilkerson said. “This is totally unthinkable.”
Gilkerson said the public is asking the board to slow down and take their time finding the right fit for the district. Trustee Carey Kangas and newly appointed Trustee Yvonne Wagstaff agreed.
"The public wants the board to take their time and make sure they are making the best choice," said Wagstaff. "We are here for the public.”
According to South Tahoe Now, a majority of speakers Tuesday asked for a more transparent superintendent search process with a firm that seeks qualified candidates and performs background checks before finalists are presented to the board.
Board President David Burns said that the DUI shouldn’t be held against Ramirez, and that “if they don’t hire Ramirez because of a DUI, then everyone with one in the district should be fired.”
Behind closed doors, the board reviewed the nine applications submitted for superintendent and decided to interview Rarmiez, Dennis Holmes, and a third applicant who took another position prior to the meeting.
Of the nine candidates, a screening process was utilized to rank each applicant. These included categories such as years of service and degrees, experience in leadership and administration, policy experience, letters of recommendation, HR experience, and fiscal responsibility among others.
Ramirez scored third of the nine, with Holmes scoring first.
Following the six-hour meeting, Burns, Katherine Dickerson, Doug Englekirk and Susan Jansen voted to offer Ramirez the position, with Gilkerson, Kangas and Wagstaff voting against.
Next, the board will determine the contract offered to Ramirez, including pay, benefits, and contract length among others.
