SAN DIEGO — After more than a year-long search, the San Diego Board of Education announced Dr. Lamont Jackson as the new Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District following a special closed session board meeting Monday afternoon.
The position at California's second largest district has been open since former Superintendent Cindy Marten was named Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Over a year ago, the Board adopted a recruitment and selection process to find the next superintendent. The process included a plan for community engagement, allowing for multiple town halls, community meetings and other opportunities for the public to actively participate in the selection process.
During the process, San Diego Unified offered more than 34 community input opportunities.
The Board appointed Dr. Lamont Jackson as Interim Superintendent after former Superintendent Cindy Marten was named Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Jackson and Dr. Susan Enfield, Superintendent of the Highline Public Schools, were named San Diego Unified superintendent finalists by the Board in December. Both finalists participated in a community engagement forum on Feb. 26.
At a forum in late February, a few dozen community members showed up masked up and socially distanced to help select the next superintendent. However, some parents and educators say some tough questions were not answered.
"Questions were absolutely not answered. These were cookie-cutter softball questions used today. We were not happy at all today," said Francine Maxwell, Chairwoman of Black Men and Black Women United.
WATCH RELATED: Dr. Lamont Jackson announced as Superintendent of San Diego Unified School district