San Diego Unified’s board has voted unanimously to fire Superintendent Lamont Jackson after an investigation substantiated allegations of misconduct involving female staff.
According to a summary of the investigation’s findings, Jackson “more likely than not,” “engaged in unwelcome, sex-based behavior,” against two former employees.
There were other allegations against Jackson that investigators concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to substantiate.
Those included that Jackson made sexual advances on the two former employees, which they rebuffed, and that the employees were then terminated. The women allege that their firings were in retaliation for rebuffing Jackson’s advances.
Additional allegations against Jackson included that he promoted women with whom he had sexual relations and that he’d engaged in “offensive and sexually-charged behavior.”
“Based on the finding, the board and the superintendent mutually agreed that separation is in the best interest of the district,” Board President Shana Hazan read from a pre-written statement.
“We are grateful to Dr. Lamont Jackson for his leadership,” she continued.
The move comes months after Voice of San Diego revealed in May that San Diego Unified had hired an outside law firm to investigate the superintendent. Earlier this week, we broke news that the investigation had substantiated allegations of misconduct with female staff.
When Joe Biden appointed former superintendent Cindy Marten Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education in 2022, San Diego Unified’s board appointed Jackson interim superintendent. The board then hired him as superintendent in March 2022 awarding him a four-year contract. After more recent raises, Jackson was making $433,125 a year salary.
Ultimately, the board terminated Jackson’s contract without cause. That means San Diego Unified is still on the hook to pay Jackson’s monthly salary and provide him health benefits for the next six months, per his contract.
Jackson’s second in command, Deputy Superintendent Fabiola Bagula, has been appointed interim superintendent. Bagula worked at the district for a decade, first as principal of Balboa Elementary and then as an area superintendent before moving on to the San Diego County Office of Education where she rose to the role of senior director of the Equity Department. In May 2022, Jackson hired her as deputy superintendent.
“We are confident Dr. Bagula’s experienced leadership will provide stability and consistency for our students, families, and educators during this transition,” the board’s statement reads.
Hazan did not clarify whether the district would launch a search for Jackson’s replacement.
Ten years too late.
VOSD had the opportunity to investigate Lamont Jackson back in 2014 when Mario Koran was covering SDUSD and I raised alarm about Lamont Jackson.
I was ignored and had to suffer unnecessarily for the last ten years. Now that Lamont Jackson has been fired, it is time for the feds (FBI) to come into SDUSD to dismantle the criminal enterprise in the district.
There is more to uncover and more people to dismiss from the school district and at least two people on the board need to resign from the school board. They know themselves.
Everyone knows that Jackson is a total scumbag. No shock that his deviant behavior has finally led to his downfall. I’ve spoken to him on occasion and I always had a creepy feeling about him. It’s so sad that people like this always rise to the top. Honest, decent, hard-working, conservative , family-oriented people can never rise to the top in a slimy, Democrat-heavy organization.
Looks like VOSD has lost credibility.
Is this a spoof? $433,125 a year salary!!! That’s more than the president of the US earns!! Now taxpayers also owe Jackson a cool $2.5 Mill just to get rid of him?! SD Schools has some serious real-life problems – who is supposed to be watching the store?! Don’t worry, though, Lamont’s sidekick, the ex-director of the Equity Department, will straighten it all out! Where do the kids fit into all this, San Diego??! LOL
I’ve been in the district for 25 yrs and it was well known the Lamont had issues with women. He was “hidden” for a year (with pay) while the district bought off a victim. The district knew what they were getting when they hired him. Again, like Marten, they wanted a feel good story about an SDUSD person who rose from the ashes to be the leader. Both, Marten and Lamont, were hand picked by the board to be puppets. He checked off boxes. There was never a nationwide search. They only say that since these positions must be opened up nationally.