Ramon C. Cortines

Who is Ramon C. Cortines?

Ramon Curtis Cortines is a retired American educator who was the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles, California from January 1, 2009 to April 16, 2011.

Cortines was born in San Antonio, Texas. He briefly served as Superintendent of Schools in LA in 2000 and has headed a total of five school districts nationally. Cortines had also served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955.

Cortines is a former Superintendent of Schools in the California cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Pasadena, along with being a former New York City Schools Chancellor. He was appointed to lead the New York City Schools in September 1993 by the former New York City Board of Education, serving during the last months of the administration of Mayor David Dinkins and during the first years of the administration of Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Cortines and Giuliani feuded for much of their shared tenure, with Giuliani being critical of Cortines' running of the schools. Cortines stepped down from the chancellorship in October 1995, going into the private sector.

Following his tenure in New York, Cortines served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S.