The Carmel Unified School District administration is once again under a magnifying glass. Parents are demanding the district place Superintendent Sharon Ofek on administrative leave and pursue a third-party investigation into allegations laid out in a lawsuit filed on April 22 by former Carmel River Elementary School principal Alberto Ramirez.
Bobby Pfeiffer, a Carmel Valley mother of two students, spoke up during a CUSD board meeting on Wednesday, May 14 and said many no longer trust the board. “Sharon Ofek was supposed to bring a new era to the district,” Pfeiffer says. “All we see is new accusations.”
Ramirez alleges his firing was retaliatory and he suffered discrimination and harassment. Among other claims, he says Ofek pressured him into asking the board to hire her on as superintendent.
Ramirez’s lawsuit states that “the hiring and new leadership of Ofek were not in any sense a break from [the district’s] dark past, but simply the next chapter of it.”
In a statement, CUSD officials write: “The false allegations made by a former administrator involve a personnel matter and the district cannot go into detail regarding why Mr. Ramirez’s employment was discontinued… The district strongly disputes the allegations of wrongdoing and plans on vigorously defending itself in court.”
Board president Jason Remynse, one of two current board members who voted in 2024 to appoint Ofek, says, “I stand behind Superintendent Ofek, as her leadership has been critical to the success that the district is currently experiencing.”
Remynse adds that under Ofek’s leadership the district has expanded dual enrollment opportunities for students, and attendance has increased.
Ofek’s predecessor, Ted Knight, resigned in 2023 with a $770,000 separation payment, which is the subject of another pending lawsuit claiming the payment exceeded the legal limit.
There are three active lawsuits in Monterey County Superior Court against CUSD.