San Diego Unified superintendent under internal investigation

The San Diego Unified School District is investigating Superintendent Lamont Jackson for unknown reasons, officials said.

The school board last month hired the law firm Sanchez & Amador, which specializes in labor litigation and workplace investigations, to conduct a “sensitive internal investigation.” The development was first reported this week Voice of San Diego.

San Diego Unified operates five public schools in La Jolla.

According to board agenda documents, the cost of the firm’s work for the district is expected to be about $100,000.

The investigation is being led by Lupe Valencia, an attorney who, according to her LinkedIn profile, specializes in internal investigations of employees in cases such as harassment, discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, code of conduct violations and deceptive business practices.

District spokeswoman Maureen Magee declined to answer questions about the reason for the investigation or whether Jackson would be placed on leave pending the results.

“The district is prohibited from commenting on personnel matters,” Magee said in an email.

Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jackson has led the district since being named interim superintendent in 2021 to succeed previous superintendent Cindy Marten, who left the district to become U.S. deputy secretary of education.

The school board officially hired him as superintendent in March 2022, citing his decades of experience in the district, including as a girls basketball coach, teacher, principal, human resources director and district superintendent.

In 2022, Jackson received just under $400,000, including salary and other benefits, according to Transparent California. His annual salary is $375,000.

His contract was last extended by the board in September; it now expires on June 30, 2027.

Jackson last underwent a public written evaluation by the board in September. In the evaluation report, the board listed successes, including expanding mental health services, increasing the number of substitute teachers in schools and expanding transitional kindergarten and ethnic studies. It also identified areas where improvement could be made, including math and reading scores, declining enrollment and campus climate.

Still, the board wrote that Jackson “continues to be the best suited leader to lead San Diego Unified on a day-to-day basis” and said he is “widely respected” by staff for his leadership skills.

Jackson is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in December by 11 San Diego Unified Police Department officers accusing several of the police department’s superiors, including Police Chief Alfonso Contreras, who was appointed by Jackson in 2022, of harassment and discrimination.

The lawsuit alleges that Jackson retaliated against one of the 11 plaintiffs by intimidating the plaintiff’s girlfriend, a teacher in the district. The lawsuit alleges that Jackson went into her classroom, watched her teach, and gave her an unwanted hug, even though they had never met before.

It is unclear whether the allegations in the lawsuit and the investigation into Jackson are related. The district previously commissioned an investigation into the allegations against the police department, which is ongoing.

— La Jolla Light staff contributed to this report. ◆