San Diego schools Superintendent Lamont Jackson was fired Friday, effective immediately, after an internal investigation found he sexually misconducted two former employees.
According to a letter from the law firm that conducted the investigation for the San Diego Unified School District, two former female employees of the district management alleged that Jackson had made sexual advances toward them, which he denied. He was then fired from his job in 2023. Both women alleged that they were fired as a form of retaliation.
The firm found evidence that Jackson had engaged in unwanted, sexually-based behavior consistent with a romantic interest in both women, but the evidence was insufficient to justify firing them for rejecting his advances.
As a result, the board and Jackson “mutually agreed that separation is in the best interest of the district,” Board President Shana Hazan said in a statement following a special closed-session board meeting Friday afternoon.
According to the law firm, the investigation also turned up additional allegations, including that Jackson promoted women with whom he had sexual relationships. The firm said it did not find sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations that some of the identified women were promoted based on having had sexual relationships with Jackson.
According to the law firm, there were other allegations that Jackson engaged in offensive and sexually charged behavior, but it did not discuss the findings of those allegations.
The district did not release a full copy of the investigation report other than a one-page summary.
District spokeswoman Maureen Magee said Jackson was officially fired without cause according to his contract. That means he will receive six months of severance pay.
Jackson did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Hazan said Deputy Superintendent Fabiola Bagula has been appointed as acting superintendent, effective immediately.
Hazan said, “We are grateful to Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson for his leadership. We are confident that Dr. Heron’s experienced leadership will provide stability and continuity for our students, families and educators during this transition.”
The San Diego Unified Teachers Union supports the selection of Heron as acting superintendent, 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 are entitled to a safe work environment,” Weinberg said.
The union representing San Diego Unified administrators, which includes school principals and district office staff, said in a statement to its members: “The decision to step aside after persistent allegations of misconduct is a difficult but necessary step toward upholding the values we hold dear. Our union, AASD, remains steadfast in its dedication to creating and maintaining a culture where every employee feels valued and safe.”
“Please support your colleagues during this difficult time and lead with compassion, kindness and courage,” the union said.
To Jackson under investigation since the spring for allegations that the district would not disclose at the time. In April, the school board hired the law firm Sanchez & Amador for about $100,000 to conduct a “sensitive internal investigation,” which officials later confirmed was about Jackson.
Jackson has officially been superintendent for just two and a half years, and his contract was set to run through June 2027. He is currently paid $433,125 annually, Magee said.
Board unanimous voting He will be chosen as superintendent in March 2022 following a selection process that spanned more than a year. Board trustees said they chose him for his work. Long track record He said he was very popular in the district and had the ability to bring others together to build community.
Until then, Jackson had been serving as interim superintendent for a year after former district chief Cindy Marten left to become deputy U.S. education secretary.
Friday’s news caps a tumultuous start to San Diego Unified’s school year, which is entering its third week.
This month, a report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights was released, stating that San Diego Unified had Fail in your duties Under Title IX, the federal law aimed to protect students from gender-based discrimination from 2017 to 2020. During that time, San Diego Unified was led by Marten.
The agency found that San Diego Unified failed to show it complied with Title IX investigations of alleged sexual misconduct toward students by other students and employees, kept poor records of the cases and failed to train employees on Title IX, among other things.
In addition to the Jackson investigation, the district is also conducting internal investigations into several other cases. allegations of misconduct, This includes harassment, retaliation and discrimination against supervisors and the former chief of the district’s police department.
A lawsuit filed last year by 11 school police officers alleged that former Chief Alfonso Contreras had a decades-long romantic relationship with a sergeant and also sexually assaulted an officer.
The lawsuit also claimed that Jackson retaliated against another officer by intimidating his girlfriend, a teacher; the suit claimed Jackson barged into her classroom without notice and gave her an unwanted hug.
In May, after two years in his new job, it was announced that Contreras I will retire From the police department.
In separate court documents filed in June, attorneys representing Contreras, the school district and Jackson denied the allegations, claiming the employment actions were taken for legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons and accused the plaintiffs of failing to consider their own safety and not exhausting administrative remedies.
Taketa writes for the San Diego Union Tribune
