QHS vice principal to return to duties following investigation
By Debra Moore
A familiar face will be back on campus at Quincy High School this week. Jason Hawkins, the school’s vice principal/athletic director, has been on administrative leave since early September.
Plumas Unified School District Superintendent Bill Roderick released the following statement late this afternoon, Nov. 28: “Plumas Unified School District, through an independent investigator retained by district legal counsel, has completed a thorough investigation into any allegations made against Jason Hawkins and the hiring practices in place during that time. Based on this investigation, there were no findings against Plumas Unified School District or Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins has been released from administrative leave and will resume his role as Vice-Principal and Athletic Director at Quincy Junior Senior High School on November 29th, 2022.”
The investigation mentioned by Roderick was initiated following the publication of an article on Sept. 8, written by staff at the independent nonprofit organization EdSource, which is dedicated to providing analysis on key education issues. EdSource filed a broad Public Records Act request spanning five years seeking findings of sexual and racial harassment and violations of the federal anti-discrimination law known as Title IX on California State University campuses.
According to the article, a complainant accused Hawkins of making sexual and racial statements during his time at San Jose State. A Title IX investigation, that involved interviews with the complainant, as well as at least 30 witnesses and Hawkins, concluded that he had violated California State University’s anti-discrimination policies based on Title IX. Hawkins resigned from San Jose State in 2018 before any disciplinary action was taken.
The following year he was hired by Plumas Unified School District to be a teacher at Quincy High. He also served as a volunteer baseball coach for Feather River College.
