BEVERLY HILLS—On February 7, the former superintendent of Beverly Hills Unified School District, Jeffrey Hubbard, pleaded not guilty to misappropriation of funds.
Hubbard, who currently holds the position of superintendent at Newport-Mesa Unified School District, has been accused of misappropriating funds in the amount of $20,000 to Karen Anne Christiansen, the former facilities director for Beverly Hills Unified School District. E-mails obtained by the media from BHUSD suggest that Hubbard and Christiansen may have had a less than professional relationship. The investigation revealed that Hubbard increased Christiansen’s auto allowance after they had an argument, and the two were involved romantically.
Hubbard had served as superintendent for the Beverly Hills Unified School District in order to build upon his experience and advance his career. He held the position for three years before applying for and obtaining his new position at Newport-Mesa Unified School District in 2006. Christiansen was hired by the Beverly Hills Unified School District as a facilities director in 2004.
In December of 2010, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint against Hubbard and Christiansen after the alleged crimes were discovered in 2009 by Beverly Hills Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Alex Cherniss.
Christiansen, who is facing two counts of misappropriation of public funds and an additional six counts of conflict of interest, has also pleaded not guilty to all charges. According to the District Attorney’s press release, in 2006, Christiansen “allegedly secretly negotiated a contract to be an independent contractor while performing her same duties as director, a violation of state conflict of interest codes.”
On January 24, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that there was enough evidence against Hubbard to go to trial. Later that day, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District released a statement claiming that the Board of Education had voted 6-1, granting Hubbard his requested paid leave of absence.
“In his official written request to Board President Mr. Walt Davenport, Dr. Hubbard stated his reason for seeking a leave at this time was to act in the best interest of all parties,” the statement read. “He indicated that he will be dedicating his time and energy to his legal defense.”
The statement further clarified that “there are no legal issues before the court involving [Hubbard’s] role as superintendent.”
Paul Reed, the deputy superintendent at Newport-Mesa Unified School District, will be temporarily handling the day-to-day tasks while Hubbard addresses personal legal issues.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for February 28.
