SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education Friday fired Superintendent Lamont Jackson, citing results of an independent investigation into “credible” accounts of inappropriate conduct toward two former district employees.
Deputy Superintendent Fabiola Bagula will immediately become acting superintendent of the district.
“Upon becoming aware of concerns related to inappropriate conduct by the superintendent towards certain employees, the Board of Education engaged an independent third-party investigator with no ties to the San Diego Unified School District to undertake an investigation,” read an email from the district sent to all of its students’ parents. “That investigation is now complete. The allegation of inappropriate conduct toward two former employees was found to be credible.”
“Based on that finding, the board and the superintendent have mutually agreed that separation is in the best interest of the district.
“We are grateful to Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson for his leadership. We are confident Dr. Bagula’s experienced leadership will provide stability and consistency for our students, families, and educators during this transition,” the email read.
In May, the district opened an investigation into Jackson. The district retained Los Angeles law firm Sanchez & Amador in April to conduct “sensitive internal investigations.”
Details on the nature of the misconduct have not immediately been made public.
The sole agenda item for the board on Friday was for “Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release,” with Board President Shana Hazan planning to make a statement in the auditorium following the closed session meeting.
Shane Harris, a spokesman for Gomez Trial Attorneys, held a news conference following the meeting. That event featured attorneys representing district staff and police officers who sued the district.
“The lawsuit which was filed by school police officers earlier this year named Jackson in it and cited concerns of the culture within the district toward not protecting victims of sexual misconduct,” Harris said. “Since that lawsuit was filed earlier this year, the SDUSD Police Chief has also resigned (his) position.”
The news conference called on SDUSD to make “swift changes” to how it handles sexual misconduct allegations going forward.
Jackson became the superintendent in 2022 following a year as interim head of the school district. A San Diego native, he was appointed in January of 2021, when ex-Superintendent Cindy Marten was nominated to serve as U.S. Deputy Education Secretary in the Biden administration. Jackson worked within the district in various roles over the course of 30 years.
The San Diego Unified School District is the state’s second-largest, with more than 95,000 students and 15,000 employees across more than 200 schools. It also has a budget topping $2 billion.
