San Diego Unified superintendent fired after investigation reveals sexual misconduct

San Diego schools Supt. Lamont Jackson was fired effective Friday after an internal investigation found he committed sexual misconduct against two former employees.

The two former female employees of the district administration alleged that Jackson made sexual advances toward them that they rejected, according to a letter from the law firm that conducted the investigation for the San Diego Unified School District. They were subsequently fired in 2023. The two women alleged they were fired in retaliation.

The company found evidence to support it “more likely than not” that Jackson engaged in unwelcome, sexual conduct consistent with romantic interest in each of the two women, but there was insufficient evidence to support that they were fired for rejecting his advances.

As a result, the board and Jackson “have agreed that separation is in the best interest of the district,” board President Shana Hazan said in a statement following a special closed board meeting Friday afternoon.

The investigation also uncovered additional allegations, including that Jackson promoted women with whom he had sex, the law firm said. The firm said it did not find enough evidence to support the claim that promotions of certain identified women were based on the fact that they had sex with Jackson.

According to the law firm, there were other allegations that Jackson had engaged in offensive and sexually suggestive behavior, but the firm did not elaborate on its findings for those allegations.

The district has not released a full copy of the investigation report other than a one-page summary.

Officially, Jackson was terminated without cause under his contract, district spokeswoman Maureen Magee said. That means he will receive six months of severance pay.

Jackson did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

With immediate effect, Deputy Chief Inspector Fabiola Bagula has been appointed as Acting Chief Inspector, Hazan said.

“We are grateful to Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson for his leadership. We are confident that Dr. Bagula’s experienced leadership will provide stability and consistency for our students, families and teachers during this transition,” Hazan said.

The San Diego Unified teachers union supports Bagula’s selection as acting principal, union President Kyle Weinberg said in a statement.

“As union teachers, we fight for safe working conditions for public school employees and safe learning conditions for the students we serve. All public school employees deserve a safe work environment,” Weinberg said.

The union representing San Diego Unified’s administrators, which include school principals and district office employees, said in a statement to its members: “The decision to part ways following ongoing allegations of misconduct is a difficult but necessary step to uphold the values ​​we cherish. Our union, AASD, remains steadfast in its commitment to creating and sustaining a culture where every employee feels valued and safe.

“Please hold your colleagues close to you during this difficult time and lead with compassion, kindness and courage,” the union added.

Jackson has been under investigation since the spring over allegations that the district declined to disclose at the time. In April, the school board hired the law firm Sanchez & Amador for about $100,000 to conduct “sensitive internal investigations” that officials later confirmed involved Jackson.

Jackson has only officially been superintendent for two and a half years, and his contract was set to run through June 2027. He currently makes $433,125 a year, Magee said.

The board voted unanimously to select him as superintendent in March 2022 after a selection process that lasted more than a year. Board members said they selected him because of his long service to the district and what they said was his charisma and ability to build community with others.

At the time, Jackson had been the district’s interim director for a year, after previous district leader Cindy Marten left to become U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education.

Friday’s news underscores a tumultuous start to San Diego Unified’s school year, now in its third week.

This month, a report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found that San Diego Unified failed to meet its obligations under Title IX, the federal law designed to protect students from discrimination based on sex, between 2017 and 2020. During that period, San Diego Unified was led by Marten.

The agency concluded that San Diego Unified failed to demonstrate that it conducted investigations into alleged sexual misconduct against students by other students and staff under Title IX, that it poorly maintained case records and that it failed to train its employees in the use of Title IX, among other matters.

In addition to the investigation into Jackson, the district also conducted an internal investigation into numerous allegations of misconduct, including harassment, retaliation and discrimination, against supervisors and the former chief of the district’s police department.

Last year, 11 school police officers filed a lawsuit alleging that former Police Chief Alfonso Contreras had a decades-long romantic relationship with a sergeant and that he had sexually abused an officer.

The complaint also alleged that Jackson retaliated against another officer by intimidating his girlfriend, a teacher. It also alleged that Jackson attended her class without notice and gave her an unwanted hug.

In May, just two years after taking his new job, it was announced that Contreras would retire from the police force.

In separate court filings in June, attorneys representing Contreras, the school district and Jackson denied the allegations, saying the actions were taken for legitimate reasons, not in retaliation. They accused the plaintiffs of failing to provide for their own safety and of failing to exhaust administrative remedies.

Taketa writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune