San Joaquin County delays a vote on a $2 million gift to a private university's medical school

San Joaquin County supervisors in California put off a $2 million gift to the University of the Pacific's planned School of Medicine on October 20, voting 4-1 to bring it back on November 10, the board's meeting record shows.

The record of the October 20 meeting lists the motion with the county's 2025-26 year-end budget report. It directs the county administrator to return with "an item for Board consideration regarding the allocation of $2 million in funding" to the school. Pacific is a private university in Stockton, the county seat.

What happened at the meeting?

One supervisor objected, and the board waited. Supervisor Paul Canepa, the plan's main backer, first asked for $3 million and cut it to $2 million by the end of the discussion, Stocktonia reported. Most of the money would come from funds left unspent in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

"Three million (dollars) now from the county of San Joaquin shows we have skin in the game," Canepa said. "We'll have a place for folks to go and be trained in our community and hopefully stay." Supervisor Steven Ding backed the idea: "We've got to grow our way out of this."

Supervisor Robert Rickman called the plan "absolutely irresponsible" when the county has been telling everyone how tight its money is, and said it was "a horrible time to do it." He asked why the university was not spending more of its own money. A speaker from the audience noted that the gift would go to a private university, not a state school. Pacific President Christopher Callahan told the board the university's endowment of about $800 million is mostly restricted, meaning donors set it aside for specific schools or programs, and said a county gift would spur more donations. A restricted gift is a promise the university has to keep.

How is the medical school being paid for?

Mostly with private money so far, plus some public funds. The university announced the school on May 28, saying a feasibility study found it needs $150 million to become financially self-sustaining, including a 100,000-square-foot education building, simulation labs and operating costs over the first decade. It plans to admit its first class in fall 2030 if accreditation is approved.

The Stockton City Council voted unanimously in March to sponsor the federal request, Stocktonia reported. Community Project Funding is money members of Congress can direct to local projects.

What should donors and public funders watch?

The terms. Neither the meeting record nor Stocktonia's report describes what the county would get for its money, such as naming, reserved seats for local students or progress reports. In our view, a public body that gives to a private institution should put its conditions in writing before it votes: what the money may pay for, what happens if the school does not open, and how the county will see results. Mixing public money with private gifts is common on big local projects; El Paso's planned deck park, for example, is assembling state, county and federal funds alongside a $10 million Hunt family gift.