SAUSD Superintendent Announces Retirement

The Santa Ana Unified School Board and Superintendent announced today the resignation and anticipated retirement of Dr. Rick Miller. Dr. Miller will be retiring from the Santa Ana Unified School District on July 1st of this year to spend time with his family. Dr. Miller has served in excess of 45 years in education including the last 27 years as a district superintendent. Dr. Miller thanked the Board and District for the tremendous opportunity to serve in Santa Ana and commends the staff for the great work they have continued to provide.

School Board President John Palacio said, “Dr. Miller’s tenure as District Superintendent brought exceptional leadership and vision that will provide a road map in ensuring that our students continue to academically achieve; the budget continues to be fiscally balanced and prudent; our parents continue to get involved; our employees have the tools they need to do their job; our facilities continue to be state-of-the-art; the use of technology continues to expand and our cabinet, management, teachers, support staff, students and parents are second to none.”

The School Board is interested in a timely and qualified replacement for Dr. Miller and as such is commencing the search process. They will begin immediately to engage a search firm that will assist in the process. President Palacio said, “Dr. Miller has all the attributes that we want in our next superintendent. He is competent, approachable, has great people skills, good listener, fair and equally important, his only purpose is to assist our students to academically achieve. Dr. Miller will be missed but at the end of the day, we will be thankful for his stewardship and the footprint he has left to guide us as we continue into the 21st century.”

Dr. Miller says, “Santa Ana Unified is a great District with great people. SAUSD is a great story with great accomplishments. We have been trying to expose others to the phenomenal stories and work that goes on daily in SAUSD. In my experience, I have not worked with a group of parents and students that are more committed and dedicated to success. Our staff is well-trained and extraordinarily dedicated to the success of our students – to levels you will not find elsewhere. I am sure the next superintendent will be pleased to continue to share the wonderful story of student success and accomplishment in SAUSD.” As Dr. Miller considers his summer retirement he says, “I am SAUSD.”