Stockton Unified terminates contract with superintendent

Stockton Unified’s school board voted in closed session Feb. 28 to terminate the emeritus contract of Superintendent John Ramirez Jr., following a state audit revealing evidence of potential fraud, according to the Stockton Record.

Ramirez will still collect a full salary of $285,000 plus benefits for one year, according to the Record.

Ramirez had resigned from the superintendent position June 9, 2022, according to the Record, but continued in an emeritus status. Weeks later, a report was released by the San Joaquin County civil grand jury showing financial mismanagement and dysfunction at the school district, the news organization reported.

On Feb. 14, the state’s Fiscal Crisis Management Team released a report detailing potentially illegal financial activities, including allegedly ignoring board policies to award a $7 million contract for air filters, according to the Record. The agency spent nearly a year working on the report.