Supt. Hubbard placed on leave

COSTA MESA — Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard on Monday was placed on paid administrative leave.

During a closed session the school board approved the district leader’s request to be put on paid leave, board President Walt Davenport said afterward.

The board approved the request with a 6 to 1 vote, with Trustee Katrina Foley dissenting, Davenport said.

The leave went into effect Monday, he said.

One resident spoke out about the board’s handling of Hubbard, who is charged with two felony counts of misappropriating funds while serving as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge decided earlier Monday that there was enough evidence to put Hubbard on trial.

During the open session Costa Mesa resident Peter Boyd, a Newport Harbor High School graduate and parent of a student at Newport Heights Elementary School, questioned the board’s decision to grant Hubbard’s request for paid leave.

“I am here to share with you that your do-nothing approach is not appropriate or acceptable,” he said. “Educators are held to a high standard and for good reason — the impact that they exercise on our youth is immense.

“To continue to employ someone who has failed to approach that standard is the height of hypocrisy.”

Hubbard, 53, is charged with misappropriating $20,000, without school board approval, to Beverly Hills Unified facilities director Karen Anne Christiansen while he was superintendent there.

He is also accused of illegally increasing her car allowance. He pleaded not guilty on Jan. 3 to both counts.

Hubbard faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison, if convicted on all charges.

Hubbard started at Newport-Mesa Unified in July 2006. He earns between $280,000 and $300,000 a year, according to Daily Pilot archives.