New details surface on alleged misconduct of ex-San Diego Unified superintendent
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — New details have emerged regarding the allegations of sexual misconduct against former San Diego Unified Superintendent Lamont Jackson that lead to his departure last month after documents were released by the district.
The documents, which include legal claim letters from two former administrators that accused Jackson of making unwanted advances toward them, also allege current interim Superintendent Dr. Fabioa Bagula had played a role in enabling “intolerable work conditions” for district staff.
Both of the women, Monika Hazel and Tavga Bustani, described allegations in their letters that indicate a culture of “quid pro quo” harassment, where those who welcomed Jackson’s overtures were given preferential treatment while the careers of those who did not were penalized.
Each are now seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in monetary damages for the lost income and other impacts that this purported culture caused, in exchange for them waiving their right to pursue litigation against the district, Jackson and Bagula.
The experiences of the administrators were at the center of the third-party investigation conducted ahead of Jackson’s dismissal.
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A summary of the probe provided after the Board of Education’s decision to release the superintendent from his role said it had found evidence showing “it is more likely than not” that he engaged in sexually-charged behavior, but was not able to substantiate quid pro quo claims.
Nonetheless, the documents raise questions about SDUSD’s handling of sexual harassment claims with the revelation of new details about how the workplace culture fostered by Jackson — and Bagula — was perceived by district staff in the months before his firing.
This includes an anonymous letter from district principals sent to Administrators Association San Diego City Schools executive director Donis Coronel and forwarded to a SDUSD district official months before the investigation into the experiences of Hazel and Bustani was initiated.
The letter described several specific instances of apparent favoritism and retaliation in personnel decisions, and fear for pressing for clear rationales about these moves publicly. It is unclear whether references to Hazel and Bustani were among the decisions mentioned.
In a statement sent in response to a list of questions, district spokesperson Mike Murad said all claims and allegations raised by the two administrators against Jackson and Bagula had 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,” he added.
When pressed about what concrete steps the district plans to take to better its response to sexual harassment allegations for both staff and students, Murad declined to comment in an email to FOX 5/KUSI.
Jackson’s alleged advances to Hazel, Bustani
In their respective legal claims for monetary damages, the two administrators, Hazel and Bustani, describe similar allegations of workplace relationships with Jackson where career advancement opportunities appeared to be implicitly predicated on engaging with his sexual overtures.
Hazel, who was an area superintendent for the district before resigning in June 2023, said Jackson made promises of “desirable job assignments” at the same time as making flirtatious remarks to her, such as calling her his “work wife” and making comments on her appearance.
Jackson also at several points made suggestive invitations to spend time with him, her claim adds — asking her to go with him to a hotel room, to his home when his wife was not at home, and on a trip to Las Vegas. Hazel says all of these advances were rebuffed.
Then, in January 2023 after making “a final rejection” to Jackson, Hazel said she was demoted from her role to a teacher, which included a significant decrease in compensation that led her to seek employment elsewhere.
Jackson allegedly made similar remarks in his communication with Bustani, according to her legal claim. On several occasions in early 2022, Bustani said the former superintendent arranged to work with her alone and spoke with her about sexual intimacy — both directly and indirectly.
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During this time, Jackson also visited Bustani’s home unprompted while she was on an extended sick leave, the claim said, where he allegedly prodded the then-chief of leadership and learning with “uncomfortable” questions about her relationship with her boyfriend.
This treatment appeared to shift in May of 2022, following months where the administrator said she rebuffed any advances made by the superintendent. According to her letter, Jackson began to “act in overtly harassing ways” toward Bustani, berating her in meetings.
“The timing of the adverse treatment by Dr. Jackson evidenced a causal relationship with Ms. Bustani’s refusal to give in to his advances,” Linda Albers, Bustani and Hazel’s counsel, wrote in one of the legal claims.
Similarly with Hazel, Bustani was demoted from her role to a teacher in January 2023 and later resigned over the move, “fearing financial ruin” due to the loss of income as the sole earner for her family.
Prior to their demotion at the end of the 2022-23 school year, both had been with the district for over a decade and were described as well respected administrators with exemplary employment records.
Bagula and the perceived workplace culture
Both letters from Hazel and Bustani alleged Bagula as deputy superintendent had treated the two women in a “highly antagonistic” and “threatening” manner at different points leading up to their demotion. They also claim she had enabled Jackson’s harassment.
According to Hazel’s claim, Bagula regularly treated her “in hostile and offensive ways, publicly shaming her on multiple occasions” in front of colleagues. In one of these alleged incidents, Bagula instructed Hazel to “speak to her in a ‘baby girl’ voice while cowering and bowing.”
Bustani, on the other hand, describes initially getting support from Bagula. However, her claim says this changed as she rebuffed Jackson’s advances, culminating in her demotion.
At the time, the administrator alleges she was told by Bagula that the rationale for the decision was because the district was “going in another direction.” She further claimed that the board of education had been told by Jackson that it was because she “lacked initiative.”
“The conduct of Dr. Jackson — and ratified by Dr. Bagula — caused the terms and conditions of Ms. Bustani’s work environment to be adversely altered,” Albers, the administrators’ lawyer, wrote in Bustani’s legal claim.
Murad, the district spokesperson, said in an email to FOX 5/KUSI Wednesday that these claims against Bagula had also been “thoroughly investigated” in the probe into Jackson, although it is not immediately clear whether they were determined to be credible.
The district’s full report still has yet to be released beyond the summary provided last month and Bagula was not mentioned in the write-up.
However, the new documents appear to support the two administrators’ claim that there had at least been perceptions of a culture of favoritism fostered by both Jackson and Bagula.
Another document released alongside the legal claims is an anonymous letter signed by principals in the district, dated months before the district launched the investigation into Jackson.
In the principals’ letter, they described being “perplexed as to why Dr. Jackson and Dr. Bagula are removing highly qualified individuals and dismantling teams and systems.”
The letter speculated that misconduct by him and others factored into the decisions. It also alleged “friendships, personal relationships, and favoritism” were considerations in the elevation of staff into higher-level roles during the previous school year.
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“There is a perception that appears Dr. Jackson is surrounding himself with these individuals on a quid pro quo basis, and it causes us to question whether he is prioritizing the well-being of the children and families in our San Diego Unified School District over his own agenda,” the letter said.
Specific instances of employment changes were included in the letter, as well as in a fourth document showing the initiating of a quid pro quo harassment complaint against Jackson last year, although all identifying details were redacted when it was released by the district.
It is also unclear whether these allegations were part of the district-initiated independent investigation ahead of Jackson’s dismissal.
The full statement provided to FOX 5/KUSI from the district by Murad on Wednesday can be found below:
“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.“
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