The audience was packed for Ladd’s last school board meeting. A line of dignitaries including Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, and Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli lined up to hand him proclamations and wish him well in retirement.
The board announced Tuesday that Associate Superintendent Mark Cerutti would serve as interim superintendent while a new district leader is being sought.
Ladd, 62, has led the district for nine years, making him the longest serving superintendent of the region's large districts. Ladd’s salary is $273,195.
The district, the fifth largest in the state, serves 62,000 students in south Sacramento County.
Ladd has been an educator for 42 years, starting as a teacher’s aide in Dade County, Florida, in 1972. He worked his way up to serve as regional director of 42 Dade County Schools. Ladd was the superintendent of the San Luis Coastal Unified School District for four years before coming to Elk Grove.