In his first interview since being fired for misconduct allegations that the school board found credible, former San Diego Unified Superintendent Lamont Jackson denied accusations that he sexually harassed two former district administrators and that he had sexual relationships with women who were promoted under his leadership. “I’ve had over 30 years in this district, in this career field. I’ve acted in a professional manner,” Jackson told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Wednesday afternoon. “I would never act in the ways that are being alleged. You can talk to colleagues, and they will share the same.” “I emphatically deny the narrative that’s being put forward,” he said. The interview with Jackson, and his attorney, comes two days after San Diego Unified released records of two legal claims that revealed details of sexual misconduct allegations against him by two women who were previously administrators with the district. Last month the board voted unanimously to terminate him after finding that allegations of inappropriate conduct toward those two women were credible, based on the results of an investigation conducted by an outside attorney. The two former administrators — Monika Hazel, who had been an area superintendent, and Tavga Bustani, who had been the district’s chief of leadership and learning — allege in their legal claims that Jackson made sexual comments and advances toward them while dangling prospects of promotion, implying to them that their careers would advance if they had sex with him. Then, after they rejected his advances, they allege, they were effectively fired by being demoted from their high-level district positions to classroom teacher, which brought a significant pay cut and public embarrassment, forcing them to look for work elsewhere. Hazel and Bustani’s attorney, Linda Albers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. “Both Monika Hazel and Tavga Bustani stand on their claims made to the San Diego Unified School District,” Albers previously said in a statement Tuesday. In his comments to the Union-Tribune, Jackson generally denied Hazel’s and Bustani’s allegations. He also specifically denied making sexual advances toward Hazel and denied her allegations that he invited her to his hotel, to Las Vegas and his house. He denied Bustani’s allegations that he made sexual proposals to her and her allegation that he came to her house unannounced. He said he visited her house once on an appointment scheduled by his assistant to check in on Bustani while she was dealing with health issues. He denied Bustani’s allegation that he visited her house a second time after she was demoted. In her claim, Bustani had said he came to her house unannounced and tried to enter without her permission. When asked whether he has ever had a sexual relationship with a district employee while working in the district, Jackson said no — though he said he met his wife, a teacher, while he was also a teacher in the district. They are married with two children. Jackson also denied allegations shared anonymously with district management last year that he had promoted women on the basis of having had sex with them and that favoritism governed his hiring decisions. “I think I have a very strong track record of being very objective in the hiring practices,” Jackson said. District management had received a letter addressed to the school board in early July 2023 from a group identifying themselves as principals, writing anonymously out of what they said were “concerns about potential reprisals.” The letter accused Jackson of having promoted women with whom he was having sex, and it asked the district to investigate whether his alleged sexual misconduct or “covering-up of other’s misconduct” had resulted in two specific employees’ removal from their positions and another person’s departure. The letter also accused the district of hiring only area superintendents with previous connections to Jackson and his deputy superintendent, now interim superintendent Fabiola Bagula. The district said in a statement Tuesday that it did not investigate the allegations in this letter because “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.” Those allegations weren’t investigated until the board commissioned its own external investigation in April, after a board member learned about Hazel’s and Bustani’s allegations during an informal lunch. Outside attorney Lupe Valencia completed the board’s investigation into the allegations last month. In a summary of her report, she said she did not find enough evidence to say whether certain employees had been promoted based on their having had sex with Jackson. The district said in its Tuesday statement that “an assumption was made” that the principals’ letter was shared with the board, and that not until after Valencia’s investigation “was it discovered” that the letter had not been given to the board. Jackson’s attorney, Anthony Ruggieri, said he and Jackson don’t dispute the school board’s decision to terminate him without cause. Under the terms of his contract, because the board terminated him without cause, Jackson relinquished all potential claims he has with the district and was granted half a year’s worth of severance pay. Jackson said he respects the board’s decision and understands that the board couldn’t continue to let the allegations distract from the work of the district. Ruggieri said they are not planning to pursue legal action against the district. “We objectively sort of understand the practical considerations that they’ve got to make under circumstances like this,” Ruggieri said. “The issue is not with them.” But he suggested Jackson’s firing might not conclude the dispute over the two women’s allegations against him. “We assume there’s going to be litigation in this case,” Ruggieri said. “We have a lot of questions for Monika and Tavga.” Jackson and Ruggieri said they have not seen a copy of the full investigation report by Valencia. The board has only released an executive summary of Valencia’s findings and has declined to release a copy of the full report publicly, saying its contents are related to potential litigation. “What you’re left with is a conclusion that is not exactly the strongest, and we are naturally curious to review the entirety of the report,” Ruggieri said of the report’s summary. Jackson said he doesn’t want to leave education and is proud of his work as San Diego Unified superintendent. “I’m not done as an educator,” he said.