More Reaction To Hubbard's Conviction

TEACHER'S UNION LEADER SPEAKS OUT
Late this afternoon Kimberly Claytor, President of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers AFT local 1794 issued a press release regarding the conviction of Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, the now-disgraced Superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The text of that press release follows:

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Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers AFT 1794 Responds to Guilty Verdict of Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard

This afternoon, Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, N-MUSD Superintendent, was found guilty by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury on two of three felony charges of misappropriation of public funds.


As educators, we are saddened by the impact that this case has had on the reputation of our district and the resources it has drained from our classrooms.



Though the felony charges stemmed from employment outside of Newport Mesa Unified School District, the email messages exchanged between Jeffrey Hubbard and Karen Christiansen, introduced as evidence in the case, revealed behavior unbecoming of a superintendent of a school district. Furthermore, the majority of our School Board members voted to grant Jeffrey Hubbard five months of paid leave to prepare for his defense – this money would have better served the public had it been spent in our classrooms.



We look forward to finding a new superintendent who respects processes put in place to protect the public trust, understands both the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa communities, and is willing to put the needs of our students first. We call on the School Board to have an open and transparent public process, with input from parents, teachers, and other community members in our search for a new superintendent. We want a School Board that is responsive and responsible to the community.

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YELSEY - NEW SUPERINTENDENT TO BE SOUGHT
Additionally, in an article in the Daily Pilot this evening, HERE, trustee Karen Yelsey - described as a Hubbard supporter - is quoted as saying the school board, "will be in the search for a new superintendent".

CLOSED SESSION TOMORROW
According to that article, the Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday at 3:00 in a closed session to discuss how to manage this issue. I certainly agree with those who feel this whole sordid affair has been a major distraction to the district and it's time to put it behind us.

REED? MAYBE
Some folks have suggested that Paul Reed, who has been standing in for Hubbard during his absence, simply be elevated to the position of Superintendent. If Reed wants the job, that might work. But I've got another suggestion.
(Daily Pilot Photo)

WHAT ABOUT BAUERMEISTER?
Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a nationwide search effort, why not reach down into the innards of the district itself and select a new superintendent from one of the many highly skilled administrators working within the organization. The first name that pops to my mind is Estancia High School principal Kirk Bauermeister. He's been on a fast track for years, is a proven visionary and leader and a man who really knows this community. It's worth some careful consideration.

Hubbard Goes To Trial, Placed On Leave

HUBBARD AND CHRISTIANSEN TO GO TO TRIAL
According to reports in the Orange County Register and the Daily Pilot, late this afternoon Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano has concluded that there is enough evidence to warrant a criminal trial for Newport Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard and his former employee at the Beverly Hills School District, Karen Anne Christiansen.

TWO FELONY COUNTS
Hubbard is accused of providing a $20,000 stipend for Christiansen and raising her car allowance from $150 per month to $500, both without school board knowledge or approval. He pleaded not guilty on January 3rd to the two felony counts.

NMUSD BOARD AGREES TO HUBBARD LEAVE
At it's meeting tonight the Trustees of the NMUSD placed Hubbard on paid administrative leave effective today. According to Britney Barnes in the Daily Pilot this evening, the board voted 6-1 to approve Hubbard's request for leave. Katrina Foley voted no.

MOVING FORWARD
This case is far from over, but at least the actions taken today will permit the school district to move forward - and permit Hubbard to focus on his case.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEWPORT INDY?
As an aside, I find it extremely curious that the Newport Beach Independent, a relatively new publication that focuses on all issues involving Newport Beach and published by former Daily Pilot publisher, Tom Johnson, has not printed a single word about this situation - not one! Certainly, this is a newsworthy issue in Newport Beach, right? How do we explain that absence of coverage? I don't expect any news source to cover every single story in it's reporting area, but this one is BIG. But, there is only a void - not even a link to other media outlets. Very curious, indeed.

NMUSD Meetings Now On Streaming Video

TIRED OF FOOTBALL?
Just in case you've got nothing else to do this weekend - after watching the four football games on Saturday and Sunday, I mean - here's some information you may find useful.



NMUSD MEETINGS ON STREAMING VIDEO
Dane Bora and Brad Long, stalwarts of CMTV, have arranged for Newport Mesa Unified School District board meetings and Study Sessions to be available for viewing via streaming video on the city web site. In my view, this is a terrific community service and will, hopefully, bring school board activities into more homes in our communities.

FIRST TWO
The first two entries are the Study Session, HERE, and the formal Board Meeting, HERE, from January 11, 2011.



HUBBARD "CITY TALK" INTERVIEW
Because of the recent intense interest in the extracurricular activities of Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, NMUSD Superintendent of Schools, I thought it might be worthwhile for you to view his City Talk interview from October 9. 2009, HERE. No, he doesn't make clever sexual jokes... sorry.

AND FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE...
And, for some perspective, I think you'll appreciate the City Talk interview with Principals Kirk Bauermeister and Phil D'Agostino conducted October 6, 2010, HERE.





FOLEY COMING UP ON "CITY TALK"
Coming up soon on City Talk will be a half-hour with Katrina Foley, whose presence on the School Board is sure to change the tempo, at least. That should be available for viewing on streaming video and in the normal rotation on CMTV next week... I'll let you know.

Hubbard Racy Emails Part Of A Pattern?

I'VE WAITED TO COMMENT, BUT...
I've avoided commenting much about the brewing scandal involving Newport-Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard because his case is in the initial stages in the courts. I've felt, and still do feel, that he should be given the opportunity to clear his name in court. He is charged with two felonies, apparently for the misuse of public funds while in his previous job as Superintendent of Schools in Beverly Hills. His co-defendant is a woman who worked with him in Beverly Hills, Karen Anne Christiansen.

REGISTER PUBLISHES EMAILS
Yesterday Tony Saavedra in his OC Watchdog column in the Orange County Register, HERE, published emails obtained through a Public Records Request that covered several years of a relationship Hubbard and Christiansen had both while working together and afterward, when Hubbard began working in the Newport-Mesa job. Those emails can only be described as graphic, sexual in nature and indicative of just what might have prompted Hubbard to bestow public funds on a woman with whom he had a less-than-professional relationship.

DAILY PILOT QUOTES SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS
Joseph Serna in the Daily Pilot published a follow-on article this evening in which he refers to the Register article and also quotes the emails. You can read it HERE. His subtitle online is quite bothersome to me. It reads, "Exchanges between the Newport-Mesa schools chief and his former subordinate in Beverly Hills doesn't bother some on the school board." What I want to know is, why not?

FLUOR - "THEY'RE CONSENTING ADULTS"
Serna quotes long, long time school board member Martha Fluor as stating, "I take it with a grain of salt. They are consenting adults." Later in the piece Serna quotes her as saying, in response to some specific references Hubbard apparently made to Christiansen in emails, "So, you know, he's a very affectionate person and expresses him and does say some witty things, and that's the type of relationship when you're working with a superintendent. You develop a bond of trust and closeness that's not necessarily sexual." Is that right, Mrs. Fluor? Really?


SCHOOL BOARD TOO BLASE'
It astounds me that elected leaders on the school board have taken such a blase' attitude about this issue. I was willing to wait until the outcome of the legal actions before commenting, but the release of the emails by the media changed that. They clearly show a man who was using his position of power in a relationship with a subordinate and it resulted in the misuse of public funds. I mean, the articles imply that he paid off his girlfriend with a $20,000 stipend because he had been unkind to her while she was grieving. Geez!

REMEMBER STEPHEN WAGNER?
If the quotations attributed to Fluor and to other members of the school board in Serna's article are accurate, it causes me much concern for the diligence of those members. We have only to recall the pathetic case of Stephen Wagner, the former finance director for the school district, who embezzled nearly $4 million back in the late 80s and early 90s, was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison, where he died at age 43 of AIDS-related causes. Daily Pilot columnist Bill Lobdell reminded us of that case recently, HERE.

ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH - AGAIN?
If the school board is dozing at the switch again, then the voters need to remember this at the next election. This will certainly generate more comments about some of the trustees on the board overstaying their welcome. The way Fluor shrugs this off with a kind of "boys will be boys" comment makes me question her judgment. It seems to me that it's about time for someone to take a good, hard look at Superintendent Hubbard's activities since his appointment four years ago. Was his lapse of judgment in Beverly Hills a one-time thing or part of a pattern of inappropriate, and perhaps criminal, behavior? It seems unlikely that the school board is interested in taking the lead. If they won't, who will? I'd really like to hear what School Board President Walt Davenport has to say about this...

Foley Signs On Early - Will Hear About Hubbard Today

NMUSD CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS HUBBARD
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District will hold an emergency special closed session meeting today, Monday, at 6:30 to discuss the circumstances of Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard's recent legal difficulties. You can read about the case HERE and HERE.

FOLEY SIGNS ON EARLY
In a related matter, Costa Mesa City Council member Katrina Foley, who was elected to replace Michael Collier on the School Board, will be sworn in just prior to that meeting commencing instead of Wednesday, as planned. This will give her an opportunity to participate in the closed session where her background as a labor attorney may be especially helpful to the Board and staff. It is unclear when, or if, Foley will resign from her City Council seat at this time.

The End Of A Memorable Week

CAN IT GET STRANGER?
It what has already been a very strange week here in the land of Newport-Mesa, events of today really finish it off!


LEECE REQUESTS BROWN ACT VIOLATION INVESTIGATION
First, Wendy Leece apparently has asked City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow to investigate suspicions of Brown Act violations in the election of Costa Mesa's new mayor and mayor pro tem Tuesday night. There are those who join Leece in her perception that the whole thing seemed orchestrated and that the outcome may have been pre-ordained. While it wouldn't surprise me to find out that there had been some hanky panky, I'm willing to wait to see if Barlow will, in fact, investigate this complaint or just blow it off. You can read the Daily Pilot coverage of this story HERE. Even columnist Bill Lobdell has chimed in on the events of that evening, HERE.

SOUR GRAPES OR REAL CONCERN?
Some may say that this is just sour grapes from Leece, who saw her dreams of being mayor dashed despite broad public support that night. There may, in fact, be some of that, but she's within her rights to question the circumstances that led to her rejection. We'll see how this shakes out.

NMUSD SUPERINTENDENT CHARGED
Then, later this evening, the Superintendent of Schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, has been arrested and charged with two felonies dealing with an incident at his prior job in Beverly Hills. The Daily Pilot story is HERE.

LET THE LEGAL SYSTEM PLAY OUT
If true, this would be tragic for the school district at a time when the four candidates for school board seats were just about to be sworn-in for their terms. One of those, Katrina Foley, is the only new person on the board and was looking forward to getting off to a quick start on issues she feels are important. This event will certainly put a dark cloud over next Tuesday's ceremonies and the school district as a whole. It's easy to speculate about this situation, but I join Foley in suggesting we let the legal proceedings play out before rushing to judgment.

HOPING FOR SLOW NEWS DAYS AHEAD
With the Christmas holidays before us and only the Planning Commission meeting ahead of us before City Hall shuts down between Christmas and New Years we might expect news to be a little slow. However, the events that end this week will keep me on my toes, ready to report any more bizarre events for your reading pleasure.