On Tuesday, San Diego Unified School District’s new Acting Superintendent Fabiola Bagula held a Zoom meeting with district principals. She wanted to settle the tumult that has engulfed the district since Friday when the Board of Education revealed an investigation substantiated allegations of sexual harassment against former Superintendent Lamont Jackson and fired him.
“I hope that you know that I usually like to speak from the heart and go off script, but this, I had to script myself. It’s still from the heart, but I need my notes, and I ask you in advance for the grace of that,” she said before clarifying that they would not be having a dialogue.
“We will be holding space for that as needed, just not this morning,” she added.
What followed was a flowery and often circular message, peppered with words fuzzy words like “integrity” and “joy.” She also mentioned the need for a “stable, thriving environment,” and her commitment to “equity, belonging and thriving.” But when it came to concrete plans for the district’s future, there wasn’t much of anything.
“This transition period presents us with an opportunity to deepen our dedication to these principles, ensuring that they’re not just words but are actively reflected in our daily practices,” she said.
One thing conspicuously absent from the speech was any mention of victims of sexual harassment, assault or discrimination. The “crisis,” as Bagula later referred to it, the district needed to recover from came because two former employees accused her former boss of sexual misconduct.
It was just one of hundreds of incidents of sexual misconduct reported at San Diego Unified. A month ago, the U.S. Department of Education slammed the district, declaring that officials had repeatedly failed to properly handle sexual harassment and assault claims.
“These failures led to serial perpetration of harassment with insufficient district response, leaving district students vulnerable to the sex discrimination in school,” the feds wrote.
We weren’t the only ones who noticed her lack of mention of the sexual misconduct scandal that led to her abrupt appointment. A district employee sent us a note and when we asked to use it, they requested anonymity out of fear of retribution.
The employee wrote that, in her statement to principals, Bagula “spoke of her sense of loss, while the executive team members surrounding her appeared visibly distraught. Out of respect for victims, or even potential victims, her message should have begun with a general statement about any type of harassment or abuse of power not being tolerated in the district by any member of the school community.”
Bagula offered nothing about what had happened or how she would work to prevent it from happening in the future, aside from saying leadership’s “focus is on creating an inclusive environment where every student and staff member feels valued and supported.” I wonder if the former employees whose submitted the complaints that led to Jackson’s ouster feel “valued and supported.”
Bagula did, however, make note that district officials would be providing employees with talking points should they speak to the media.
“As we move forward, clear and consistent communication is vital. So, you will also be receiving some talking points in case you need them,” she told the principals. “We want to make sure that you have anything that supports you in communication.”
The closest Bagula came to mentioning misconduct was inuendo.
“We must reassure our staff and community that our board, ourselves, our entire leadership team are operating within the highest levels of integrity. This is not just a value, but the foundation of our work,” Bagula said.
“Now, in the days ahead, there will be distractions. People will want to engage in gossip or focus on headlines. But our core values remind us of our true purpose. Tomorrow and every day, moving forward, our students will walk through our gates and on to our school campuses and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the adults are focused on them,” she said.
She did say she would be willing to talk and that she hopes employees are supporting each other.
“And I hope that you’re together, because it’s a we-us situation, and it always has been and always will. That is something that I want you to know, that whenever I talk about the collective or collective wisdom or collective responsibility, the we-us poem, the concentric circle, this is a true belief system for me, and I’ve seen how it can change not only outcomes but also societies,” she said.
But she had a final reminder to stay on script.
“Again, you’ll be receiving some guidance with talking points about how to address media. Thank you also for showing up as your best self as we lead through this, making sure that the noise becomes noise somewhere else, and that our kids are arriving at school and are experiencing learning in all of our classrooms. So, thank you very much. And that concludes our time.”
I reread some of the other messages district officials have put out since Jackson’s firing. In the board’s announcement that Jackson had been fired, trustees expressed their gratitude for his service but did not mention the people he may have harmed in the course of his service. A message from Bagula posted earlier Wednesday laid the inspirational talk on thick, but also didn’t mention how or why Bagula and district stakeholders have now embarked on “this new journey together.”
Some of the district’s elected board members don’t seem to think there’s much of a connection between the district’s history of failing to properly handle sexual misconduct complaints and its present reality of a district leader being dethroned because of misconduct complaints. Instead, it looks like they view Bagula as a clean slate.
But if this is the new journey, parents and educators may not be sure how it will be different from the old one.
SDUSD has experienced a leadership deficiency since the Bersin/Alvarado era.
Every one of the board members needs to be voted out of office. These are the folks who selected Lamont Jackson, protected him and now chose to thank him after what he did. The board cannot be trusted to make another selection and it is time to bring in new leadership from outside the district and move on from the insiders. Our students and community are counting on it.
I totally agree with you on bringing someone from outside the district. The fairy tales of district students-teacher-administrator-superintendent are no longer viable, IF the district is going to make any progress from the “crisis” Lamont Jackson left behind.
A white male no-nonsense candidate would be a wise choice. I subbed for Fabiola Bagula many years ago when she was principal, before I got a short lived contract, she appeared to be a good person. Having a homegrown Hispanic Interim Superintendent may be okay for the short time (and I am sure she’s qualified) but unless she’s able prove her worth in the next few weeks, she may not be a long term choice.
Lots of Lamont Jackson’s errand people, supporters and enablers within the district have to be let go as quickly as best qualified replacements can be found.
Let’s wait and see.
Why the big push on race? What does being a white male have to do with their competence and integrity as a superintendent? What does Dr. Bagula’s hispanic heritage have to do with it?
I’m a no-nonsense white male but this viewpoint is total nonsense.
In your headline you refer to the “San Diego Schools Superintendent”. I just wanted to note that the San Diego Superintendent of Schools is a different person from a different organization than the one that your article is about, so the headline is a bit misleading.
Does this article ignore (miss) the point that the district may have been prevented from mentioning the situation (either directly or indirectly) by agreement concerning his separation and hence appropriately chose to avoid it? Put differently, maybe don’t overreact to the way by which the district moves on.