Douglas County School Board passes on superintendent candidate Ramirez
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 02/15/2024 - 10:19am
There was another passionate packed house on Tuesday to hear the Douglas County School Board (DCSB) vote on its candidate for superintendent, John A. Ramirez, Jr. Many of those in attendance wore the familiar red shirts and carried signs including those that stated "My Voice Doesn't Matter" and "Don't hire a liar."
For over three hours, parents, teachers, students, and community members told the board their thoughts on the hiring of the former Stockton Unified School District superintendent to fill that same position in Douglas County. An overwhelming majority of the crowd were against bringing Ramirez to the county.
The meeting started with action that much of the crowd objected to. Board President David Burns gave a journalist nine minutes for her public comment before anyone else was able to speak. The general public gets 90 seconds. Both Burns and the DCSD legal counsel Joey Gilbert said he could do what he wanted with public comment time.
Former Board President Susan Jansen said she had been concerned about items mentioned during last week's special meeting about a possible criminal background of Ramirez. Jansen said she called Megan Barth of the Nevada Globe to investigate the comments and she used that nine minutes of planned public comment to report to Jansen and the board, stating she could find no evidence of a criminal background on Ramirez.
Multiple newspaper stories in several cities, grand jury, and special audit reports had all backed up what has been stated in several local publications and on new stations about Ramirez's history in education starting with his time in the Alisal School District.
Ramirez wasn't fully truthful on his application when he said he had no criminal offense conviction, the reason he left the employ of Stockton Unified School District, and the fact he had an active education license in another state. There were also several blank sections with no answers. During the Feb. 6 meeting, Ramirez told the board during his interview he overlooked his "no" answer about a DUI where he had .225% BAC.
During an interview with the Monterey Herald for a story on April 2, 2010, Ramirez confirmed he pleaded no contest to a hit-and-run incident in 2004. As a result, he was publicly censured for misconduct by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The Herald said, that without elaborating, Ramirez admitted having made a mistake, dealing with it, and moving on. He said it was a traffic violation "but the CTC felt the need to reprimand me on it."
Burns told his fellow board members that if anyone on the board continued to use allegations without proof, the Board would not be held responsible if the individual was sued. He also told the public that they could be sued as well if stating unproven information in public comment.
“I see this is a bad idea, and if I see this, you as a school board should see it is a bad idea,” said one of several student speakers about the hiring of Ramirez.
During the Feb. 6 special meeting, Ramirez was chosen as the next superintendent and Tuesday night's meeting was a vote on his contract.
"Our children deserve so much better," said parent Ginger Nicolay-Davis. "This decision jeopardizes this District. Find a candidate with values and expectations this community deserves, we deserve so much better, our children deserve so much better."
Some speakers asked the board to take a breath and take time in searching for a new superintendent that best fits the community. The process started on the wrong foot when the voted-on team of Jansen and Board Vice President Linda Gilkerson to create the search process was bypassed, and Jansen did it herself with counsel, and without Gilkerson due to having her "feelings hurt." Speakers said it was okay to change its mind and not offer Ramirez the employment contract to sign.
It wasn't the first time a community spoke up against hiring Ramirez as a school superintendent. In 2016, the Santa Maria Elementary Education Association held a protest and asked their school board not to hire Ramirez. In 2013 he received votes of "no confidence" from two employee unions at Alisal Union School District.
"The search for a superintendent should have involved the public — this wouldn’t have happened," said caller Leeanne Wagoner, the parent of three. "Do not enter into a contract. He is not the role model and leader we want. You are ignoring the red flags."
A motion to reject a contract was made by Trustee Doug Englekirk, and seconded by Gilkerson. Trustees Carey Kangas, Yvonne Wagstaff, Jansen, Englekirk, and Gilkerson voted in favor of the motion. Trustee Katherine Dickerson voted against rejecting the contract while Burns abstained.
At the board's March 12 meeting, the trustees will discuss the next steps in the process of hiring a new superintendent.
