The San Diego Unified School District is investigating its superintendent Lamont Jackson for undisclosed reasons, officials confirmed this week.
To that end, the school board last month hired the firm Sanchez & Amador, which specializes in employment litigation and workplace investigations, to conduct “sensitive internal investigations,” which was first reported times by Voice of San Diego. The company’s work for the district is expected to cost about $100,000, according to documents on the board’s agenda.
The investigation will be led by Lupe Valencia, an attorney specializing in internal employee investigations, including harassment, discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, code of conduct violations and alleged fraudulent business practices, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A district spokesperson declined to answer questions about the reason for the investigation or whether Jackson would be placed on leave pending results.
“The district is not permitted to comment on personnel matters,” district spokeswoman Maureen Magee said in an email.
Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jackson has led the district since he was named interim superintendent in 2021 to succeed former leader Cindy Marten, who left 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 serving as a girls basketball coach, teacher, principal, human resources officer and area superintendent.
In 2022, Jackson received just under $400,000, including salary and other types of compensation, according to Transparent California. His annual salary is currently $375,000.
The board last extended his contract in September last year; it now expires on June 30, 2027.
Jackson last received a public written evaluation from the board in September of last year. In its evaluation report, the board listed a mix of accomplishments — including expanding mental health services, increasing the number of substitute teachers in schools and expanding transitional kindergarten and of ethnic studies – and areas for improvement, including math and reading scores, declining enrollment and campus climate.
The board nonetheless wrote that Jackson “remains the most qualified leader to lead San Diego Unified on a daily basis” and said he was “widely revered” by staff for his leadership.
Jackson is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in December by 11 San Diego Unified police officers, alleging harassment and discrimination by several police department supervisors, including Chief Alfonso Contreras, whom Jackson appointed in 2022.
The lawsuit alleges that Jackson retaliated against one of the 11 plaintiffs by intimidating his girlfriend, a teacher in the district. The lawsuit alleges that Jackson came to her classroom, watched her teach and then gave her an unwanted hug, even though they had not met before.
It’s unclear whether the lawsuit’s allegations and the ongoing investigation into Jackson are related. The district previously ordered an investigation into the police allegations, which remains ongoing.
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