San Diego Unified Board terminates Superintendent Lamont Jackson's contract
Summary
1. Termination: Lamont Jackson has been fired from his position as Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District by the Board of Education.
2. Reason for termination: The firing was due to "credible" allegations of inappropriate conduct towards two former female employees, as found by an independent investigation.
3. Investigation details:
- The investigation was conducted by an independent third-party investigator with no ties to the district.
- It was initiated in May 2024 after concerns were raised about Jackson's conduct.
- The investigation found credible evidence of inappropriate conduct toward two former employees.
4. Additional allegations: The investigation also uncovered other claims against Jackson, including allegations that he promotes women with whom he has sexual relations and engages in offensive and sexually-charged behavior. However, there was insufficient evidence to support claims that women were fired for refusing sexual advances.
5. Mutual agreement: The board stated that Jackson's separation was mutually agreed upon as being in the best interest of the district.
6. Replacement: Deputy Superintendent Fabiola Bagula has immediately become the acting superintendent of the district.
7. Background: Jackson had been in the role since 2022, following a year as interim superintendent. He had worked for the district in various roles for about 34 years.
8. Previous contract: Prior to his termination, Jackson had signed a four-year contract in March 2024 with an annual salary of $375,000, which was a significant increase from his predecessor's salary.
This situation marks a significant change in leadership for the San Diego Unified School District, which is the second-largest school district in California.
Lamont Jackson's Contract Details
Annual Salary: $375,000
Car Allowance: $15,000 annually
Termination Clause: If the board decides to fire Jackson without giving a reason, the contract allows him to be paid up to $187,500, or six months' salary.
- Contract Expiration: March 6, 2026
Based on these contract details, we can conclude:
2. However, in this situation, Jackson was terminated due to findings from an investigation into misconduct. This likely constitutes termination with cause.
3. The articles state that the separation was "mutually agreed" upon, which might affect how the termination clause is applied.
Given these factors, it's unclear whether Jackson will receive any further pay. The situation as described (termination due to misconduct findings) would typically not trigger a severance payment. However, the "mutual agreement" aspect could potentially involve some negotiated settlement.
To know for certain whether Jackson will receive any further pay, we would need more specific information about how his contract's termination clause is being applied in this particular case, or details of any separation agreement reached between Jackson and the school board. This information is not provided in the given articles.
Superintendent Lamont Jackson's termination from the San Diego Unified School District comes after a months long investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct towards two former female employees.
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - 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.
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San Diego Unified Fires Superintendent Lamont Jackson Over ‘Inappropriate Conduct’
The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education terminated Superintendent Lamont Jackson on Friday afternoon, citing results of an independent investigation into accounts of inappropriate conduct toward two former district employees.
“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,” the board said in a statement.
“That investigation is now complete. The allegation of inappropriate conduct toward two former employees was found to be credible.”
Deputy Superintendent Fabiola Bagula will immediately become acting superintendent of the district, according to the announcement.
“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 statement 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.”
“Two female, former district management employees reported that Dr. Jackson had allegedly made sexual advances which they rebuffed, and thereafter they were released from their contracts and terminated in 2023,” said the law firm in a statement, which added that the women contended that their release and terminations were in retaliation for having refused Jackson’s advances.
The report said that the information came to light in early April 2024 during an informal lunch get-together between one of the women and an SDUSD board member. The woman identified a second person as having had a similar experience.
“In the course of the investigation, other allegations against Dr. Jackson came to light,” the report continued. “Several witnesses alleged he promotes women with whom he has sexual relations and that he has engaged in offensive and sexually-charged behavior.”
However, the law firm said that it did not find sufficient evidence to support claims that women had been fired for refusing sexual advances.
Shane Harris, a spokesperson 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.
City News Service contributed to this report.
San Diego Unified School District’s new superintendent will make $375,000 a year Lamont Jackson gets a 29 percent increase from the salary of the previous superintendent, Cindy Marten.
By Kristen Taketa | kristen.taketa@sduniontribune.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Lamont Jackson, the San Diego Unified School District’s new superintendent, will get a four-year contract with a $375,000 annual salary, the school board decided unanimously March 22.
The board announced earlier this month that it had hired Jackson, who has worked for the district for about 34 years and previously was an area superintendent, as the district’s permanent leader. Jackson was already serving as interim superintendent for almost a year, making $280,800 annually.
Jackson’s new salary is 29 percent more than what his predecessor, Cindy Marten, was making. Marten, who led the district for eight years, was collecting a $290,907 annual salary, according to the district.
In addition to his salary, Jackson will get a $15,000 annual car allowance.
The school board will evaluate Jackson’s performance in January and July of each year, according to his contract. If the board decides to fire Jackson without giving a reason, the contract allows him to be paid up to $187,500, or six months’ salary.
His contract will expire March 6, 2026.
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