Bucking Grand Jury Report, SUSD Board Censures Trustee Again

July 28, 2021 at 6:34 pm

By Miriam Waldvogel

The Stockton Unified Board of Trustees voted 4-2 Tuesday to censure trustee AngelAnn Flores for unspecified violations of the board’s code of ethics and closed session policy. The move comes on the heels of the release of a San Joaquin County civil grand jury report criticizing the board for its excessive use of censures.

The censure resolution cites Flores for disrupting board meetings, speaking without being recognized by the board president, and deviating from agenda items. It also claims she violated the confidentiality of the board’s closed session, where litigation and other sensitive topics are discussed, and violated the board’s code of ethics.

However, no specific comments or actions on her part were described in the resolution, which is required by district policy. Tuesday’s board meeting marked the fourth time that Flores had been censured this year.

The resolution was approved 4-2, with Cecilia Mendez, Scot McBrian, Alicia Rico, and Ray Zulueta Jr. voting yes. Flores and Maria Mendez voted no.

The board’s decision comes less than a week after the release of the grand jury report, which wrote that the excessive use of censures “wastes time and taxpayer money.” The report also called on the board to halt the use of censures by September.

The same night as the meeting, Stockton Unified students led a group of roughly 70 people at the district offices to protest the board’s conduct. They demanded that the board hold in-person meetings accessible by livestream, discuss the grand jury report at the next meeting, follow all of the jury’s recommendations, and create an oversight committee to evaluate how successfully the recommendations were followed.

“Our school board really has not been doing their job properly,” said lead organizer and Stockton Early College Academy student David Sengthay.