After an eight-month saga, Ernest “Ernie” Gonzalez has been chosen to be the new superintendent of the Orange Unified School District.
The OUSD announced the unanimous selection during its Aug. 17 board meeting. Gonzalez’s contract is still under negotiation, said Lori Elsasser, an OUSD spokesperson in the superintendent’s office, with plans to be finalized during the board’s October meeting.
“We are pleased to appoint Gonzalez in this role,” said Rick Ledesma, OUSD board president. “Congratulations to him, and we look forward to continuing to work with him.”
Gonzalez has worked in the Orange Unified district since 2012 under multiple roles. Gonzalez served as executive director and assistant superintendent, both in the district’s human resources department. Prior, Gonzalez served for five years as Orange High School’s principal.
Gonzalez is the first Latino superintendent that the district has appointed, said Trustee John Ortega.
Gonzalez holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Azusa Pacific University and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities and history from the University of San Diego.
“Thank you to the district and fellow board members for supporting me through this time, and I am excited to ensure the OUSD students have a wonderful time in the district,” said Gonzalez.
“He stepped up during an extremely difficult time in Orange Unified, something that we are still going through,” said Trustee Kris Erickson.
Right before students came back from holiday break in January, the OUSD board fired superintendent Marie Gunn Hansen without any warning. This was not a unanimous decision, and the decision has been heavily criticized by parents and community members, even sparking multiple lawsuits alleging that this process was in violation of the Brown Act.
From the time of the initial firing until March, Edward Valesquez served as interim superintendent. After he departed in early March, Gonzalez was appointed as acting superintendent, but board members said the district was actively looking for a new superintendent through a search firm. This search was put on pause in late April.
OUSD has also been at the center of the “parental right notification” policy which would “out” students to parents if a school staff detects a student who wishes to identify as a different gender. The board plans to vote on enacting such a policy during its next meeting on Sept. 7.
The district’s 41 schools serve approximately 26,000 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the cities of Orange, Villa Park, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and unincorporated Orange County.
