School board will not take action on union vote
The Newport-Mesa school board has yet to respond to the teachers union’s no confidence vote in Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard, and has no plans on the table to do so, the board president said Monday.
“I guess I consider it closed unless somebody requests it be taken further,” Walt Davenport said.
Of the 379 Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers members who voted, 91.2% stated on their ballots that they have no confidence in Hubbard. Of the union’s 959 members, nearly 40% voted.
Hubbard will likely go to trial early next year on three felony counts of misappropriating funds during his tenure as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. His next appearance in Los Angeles Superior Court, for pretrial motions, is set for Dec. 12.
Teachers union officials have said the vote isn’t passing judgment on Hubbard’s guilt or innocence, but members have been critical of the paid time off Hubbard took to prepare for his defense.
The union reported the ballot results at the Nov. 8 board meeting during public comments. School board members did not respond then nor at the Nov. 22 meeting.
Davenport said he doesn’t feel like the vote merits a response for a combination of factors that he didn’t want to share publicly, but he did say the election results could be deceiving.
While a large percentage of teachers voted no confidence, the majority of teachers did not vote, Davenport said.
Those who don’t vote are generally satisfied, he said, adding if all the teachers voted the results might show something different.
“You may end up having a minority of the actual membership feeling that way [no confidence in Hubbard],” he said.
Union President Kimberly Claytor has said she feels the votes represent the “sentiment of our membership.”
“We hope the school board will pay attention that 90% of the teachers have no confidence in our superintendent,” she has said. “It’s a sad thing. I don’t mean it’s sad that they have no confidence, it’s sad about the whole scenario.”
Claytor couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
In the resolution sent out with the ballots to all members, union officials listed several reasons for the vote, including Hubbard asking for paid administrative leave to deal with personal issues and emails from his district account filled with sexual innuendo.
In addition, the resolution claims that Hubbard received special treatment.
Union officials have also alleged unequal treatment and hiring practices occurring under his leadership.
Twitter: @britneyjbarnes