SAN DIEGO — New details are coming out about what led to the termination last month of San Diego Unified Superintendent Lamont Jackson. The San Diego Unified School District released claims this week detailing sexual harassment allegations by two former employees.
Other records released by the school district showed complaints about Jackson began more than 14 months ago.
“These staff members should have never had to experience what they experienced,” school board vice president, Cody Petterson, told CBS 8.
“None of these things will happen again under our watch, and we are now trying to figure out how they happened and how to remedy them so it doesn't happen again,” added Petterson.
The former employees, Monika Hazel and Tavga Bustani, filed claims in July alleging they were demoted after refusing Jackson's sexual advances in 2022. Eventually, both employees left the district.
Bustani's claim alleges Jackson made sexual advances, which she refused, and then in January 2022 Jackson came to her house while she was on sick leave.
"While at her house Dr. Jackson asked to have a tour of her house. When he got to Ms. Bustani's bedroom Dr. Jackson began to ask her personal questions about her relationship with her boyfriend,” the claim alleges.
Hazel’s claim said Jackson called her his "work wife" and he made sexual advances, “asking her to go with him to a hotel room, to his own home (when his wife wasn't present), and even to Las Vegas."
The school board voted to terminate Jackson at the end of August 2024.
CBS 8 emailed Jackson and knocked on his door in Carmel Valley. A family member answered the door but did not comment for this report.
Hazel also claimed she was discriminated against by the current interim superintendent, Faviola Bagula, back in 2022 when Bagula was Jackson's deputy superintendent.
"Dr. Bagula ordered Mrs. Hazel to speak to her in a 'baby girl' voice while cowering and bowing towards her,” the claim alleges.
“Dr. Bagula made racist comments about Caucasians by referring to the actions of another individual as constituting being ‘white-womaned.’ Mrs. Hazel was a Caucasian woman present and therefore the comment was highly adverse to her as it evidenced Dr. Bagula’s favoritism towards non-Caucasians,” the claim continued.
San Diego Unified responses
SDUSD emailed CBS 8 the following statement Tuesday morning:
“The San Diego Unified School District took all claims and allegations seriously, and immediately engaged an independent third-party investigator with no ties to the District to conduct the investigation. This investigation began immediately upon the District becoming aware of the claims and allegations, in advance of formally receiving the complaints. The allegation of inappropriate conduct toward two former employees was found to be credible. All claims and allegations raised in the letters have been thoroughly investigated, addressed, and are now closed. San Diego Unified remains committed to transparency, the safety and well-being of all students and staff, and to upholding the values of our community.”
“I think we have a lot of confidence in (Bagula), and that's illustrated by the fact that we did make the decision last week to appoint her to the interim (superintendent) role from the acting role,” said the school board vice president, Cody Petterson.
More than 14 months ago, in July of 2023, a group of school principals sent an anonymous letter to the school board complaining about Jackson's behavior.
Petterson confirmed the school board never received the letter until a few days ago. “I don't believe there was any intention to conceal it from the board. I just think we have procedures in place that did not channel it and ensure that the board had seen it,” he said.
Petterson said he could not discuss possible settlements to the claims. He said the school board will meet in closed session next week.
The SDUSD released an updated statement to CBS 8 late Tuesday afternoon:
The San Diego Unified School Board is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all students and staff, as well as maintaining transparency and accountability in all matters. This week, board trustees were made aware of an anonymous letter that described concerns about Dr. Jackson. Initially, the letter had been sent to the Executive Director of the administrators’ union in 2023 who sent it to District staff. Upon review by the District at the time, it was determined that the allegations were expressly based on rumors and speculation from third party anonymous sources and so, were not investigated further at the time. However, these same allegations arose during the course of the District’s most recent investigation, this time with specific facts, and were forwarded to the independent, third-party legal firm retained by the District for investigation. An assumption was made that the letter had been shared with the Board. Only in 2024 after the independent, third-party investigation, which yielded the unsubstantiated result, was it discovered that the letter had not, in fact, been shared with the board in 2023. The allegations described in the letter were revisited in the course of the investigation into Dr. Jackson that was completed in August 2024. The same investigation found the allegation of inappropriate conduct toward two former employees by Dr. Jackson to be credible. Based on that finding, the Board and the Superintendent mutually agreed that separation was in the best interest of the District. A claim involving Interim Superintendent Bagula was also thoroughly investigated and resolved by the third-party investigator, and has been addressed by the District. School Board President Shana Hazan said, “San Diego Unified is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of transparency, safety, and accountability. The Board has full confidence in Dr. Bagula and in her capacity to lead San Diego Unified with integrity.” She also explained, “We are committed to upholding the values of our community, sharing information with the public in a timely manner, and continuously improving our processes to ensure the well-being of our students and staff.”
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