Eight months later, Lance Jackson's services still cost Oakland Unified about $1,300 a day, nearly 30 percent more than the district superintendent's pay.
    Despite his job title, Jackson isn't a district employee. He's the chief operating officer at SGI Construction Management, the company hired to manage the district's bond program, a three-year contract worth up to $11 million.
     He is both a district administrator and a contract worker, overseeing services performed by his own company, through which the $30,000 monthly fee is paid. The arrangement has raised conflict-of-interest questions in an Oakland district with a history of financial mismanagement, including a $100 million state bailout in 2003. ...
     A renewed effort in recent months failed to find a replacement, despite 36 applicants, only two of whom were flagged for in-person interviews. The district decided this week to hire a search firm to help find a suitable candidate, Flint said.  ...
     While he's still an SGI employee, he said he currently works only for Oakland. ...
     SGI, headquartered in Pasadena and also known as Seville Group Inc., has deep experience in construction management and has worked on more than 30 school construction bond projects since 1998.
     But it has faced questions at times from communities concerned about responsible taxpayer spending on schools.