Testimony resumed Wednesday in the felony trial of Stockton Unified School District board member AngelAnn Flores, with prosecutors calling to the stand Christina Alejo, the district’s longtime superintendent’s executive assistant, to explain internal concerns over trustee credit card use and receipt practices.
Flores faces three felony counts—embezzlement, misuse of a district-issued credit card, and filing a false insurance claim. She has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege she used public funds for unauthorized personal expenses, while the defense argues the case is politically driven, tied to Flores’s past cooperation in a federal investigation into the district’s financial practices.
Longtime SUSD aide, details receipt gaps and policy enforcement
Alejo, executive assistant to the superintendent for 16 years, testified that her role in the matter began when the district’s business office flagged a series of “frequent purchases” and unauthorized fuel charges via email. She relayed these concerns to then–interim Superintendent Traci Miller, explaining that she had grown frustrated with the inconsistent and delayed submission of trustees’ receipts needed to reconcile monthly credit-card statements.
On June 1, 2023, Alejo emailed Flores to report approximately 59 outstanding receipts covering transactions from February through May. She added that fuel purchases remained prohibited unless a separate procedure was followed. Ultimately, Flores did submit the missing receipts, many of which contained handwritten notations such as “conference” or “meeting” to clarify the expense.
Alejo further testified that, following the arrival of Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez in July 2023, district-issued credit cards were collected from trustees.
Alejo conceded under cross-examination by defense attorney Tori Verber Salazar that the district had no formal prohibition against trustees purchasing meals for others or ordering services like DoorDash, provided the expenses were incurred during official district business.
However, she emphasized that her duties were administrative only—she processed receipts but lacked authority to approve charges. She added that late submissions were common and sporadic among trustees, not isolated to any one individual.
A key focus during defense questioning was a $927.42 dinner charge incurred during a Parent Advisory Council/DELAC event in Long Beach. Salazar noted that the itemized bill included a list of attendees—primarily parents—and mandatory gratuity.
In addition, Salazar introduced a March 3 email from Alejo to colleague Olivia Fernandez, administrative assistant of the Language Development Office, in which she asked how many parents would attend the conference and referenced Flores’s intention to reserve a conference room or table for the evening meal.
Under questioning by Verber Salazar, Alejo also highlighted times when Flores had communicated with her about her card use.
“Ms. Flores is texting you, communicating with you, giving you receipts by phone like all the other board members, correct?” the lawyer asked. Alejo said yes.
Finally, Alejo testified during questioning by Verber Salazar that former school board member Cecilia Mendez, who represented Area 1 from 2016 through 2024, spent far more district money on her credit card than Flores had.
“Cecilia Mendez had more charges than almost all the board combined,” Verber Salazar said. “Correct,” Alejo said.
Mendez faces no charges related to district spending.
Former interim superintendent gives first testimony
Late Wednesday afternoon, one of two key witnesses in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office’s initial investigation into Flores took the stand for the first time — Traci Miller, interim superintendent of Stockton Unified from in 2022-2023.
The other key witness, interim Stockton Unified business chief Joann Juarez, testified earlier in the trial.
During questioning by prosecutor Donald Vaughn, Miller described her 25-year career at Stockton Unified, culminating in her taking over as interim. She described herself as a whistleblower who aimed to reform a district in financial turmoil.
“I would say 20 of those (25 years), there’s been turmoil,” Miller said.
“If anyone inside the organization was doing anything illegal, we were going to deal with that,” she said.
Though Miller didn’t cite it specifically, one well-known area of financial trouble at the district was a February 2022 state auditors’ report finding fraud had likely occurred surrounding a $7.3 million air filter contract.
Shortly after starting as interim, Miller became concerned about Flores allegedly failing to submit receipts for her expenses, she testified. The district tried to remedy the situation by repeatedly emailing Flores seeking the receipts, Miller said.
But Miller said she felt intimidated after she and others received two emails from Flores requesting that no one talk about her to media organizations, law enforcement or others without her approval.
The former interim superintendent also detailed numerous other issues she had with Flores’ leadership, from Flores allegedly interacting with district staff against Miller’s wishes to Flores speaking at a board meeting about alleged misconduct by Miller and other officials.
Finally, Miller contacted the DA’s office, and in April 2023 contacted the Sheriff’s Office about Flores, she said.
“I was a whistleblower, and I paid the price for that” by retiring earlier than she’d hoped due to Flores’ alleged influence, Miller testified.
During cross-examination, Verber Salazar raised questions about whether Miller was really forced out over conflict with Flores.
Under questioning, Miller acknowledged that she believed just shortly after starting as interim that she wouldn’t be in the role long. Verber Salazar also presented a union letter signed by multiple school district employees describing “numerous instances that have caused us to question (Miller’s) leadership.”
Those included Miller allegedly allowing an unnamed school district director to harass union members, and barring certain communications on bulletin boards, the letter, from the California School Employees Association, stated.
Miller testified that she didn’t recognize the letter.
Verber Salazar also raised questions about how robust Miller’s efforts to reform the district truly were.
Under questioning by the lawyer, Miller testified that she hadn’t reviewed or questioned checks sent during her tenure to the air filter company involved in the suspicious contract. Miller also testified that she didn’t bring up the contract to the Sheriff’s Office when reporting her concerns about Flores.
The case is expected to return to court at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, with further cross-examination of the former superintendent.