Fortunately for Newport-Mesa Unified School District chief Jeffrey Hubbard, his school board has stood by him amid charges and embarrassing evidence (love pledges and oral-sex references exchanged with and racy photos of a fellow administrator he allegedly gave secret financial bonuses to) related to his previous gig with Beverly
Hills schools. Now, the Los Angeles County grand jury has indicted Hubbard on a third count of illegally giving Beverly Hills district funds, only this time it was supposedly to a second woman who later joined him at Newport-Mesa. Hell, screw trustees and prosecutors, one wonders what Hubbard's explanation will be to the first chick!
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As Hubbard has with the two felony counts of misappropriation
of public funds related to his relationship with fellow administrator Karen Anne Christiansen, the 54-year-old schools superintendent pleaded not guilty to the new third count surrounding a supposedly secret raise given to Nora Roque when she worked with him in LA County. All the counts relate to actions taken from 2005-2006 in the Beverly Hills Unified School District.
The Daily Pilot reports that Roque joined Newport-Mesa in June 2008 as a coordinator of administrative services at an annual salary of $106,516.32. She's now pulling down $142,175.06 yearly as the district's director of classified personnel. She is not accused of wrongdoing in the LA County case.
Hubbard returned to Newport-Mesa this school year after taking a five-month leave of office that followed the filing of the original indictments, which included charges against Christiansen.
As LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley's office has investigated the allegations and forwarded results to the grand jury, sexed-up details have come out about the relationship between Hubbard and Christiansen, who is alleged to have received about $20,000 and a $350 monthly car allowance without the Beverly Hills school board's approval:
Huge developments were revealed in January:
- Hubbard denied having an affair with Christiansen and claimed the Beverly Hills school board had approved her $20,000 stipend;
- Emails emerged showing Hubbard's current Newport-Mesa employers on the school board were standing behind him, believing he is innocent;
- LA County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano ruled there was enough evidence of “backroom dealing” in the indictments that Hubbard and Christiansen must stand trial;
- Solorzano specifically cited swimsuit photos of Christiansen that she sent to a Beverly Hills district attorney whose firm later renegotiated her contract
with the school system:
Trial is tentatively set to begin Nov. 10. Hubbard faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted.
Previous coverage:
- Jeffrey Hubbard, Newport-Mesa Schools Chief, Subject of Closed Session Over Beverly Hills Criminal Charges
- Karen Ann Christiansen, Tied Up in Scandal With Newport-Mesa Schools Chief Jeffrey Hubbard, Provides Ugly Police Mug of the Week
- Jeffrey Hubbard, Newport-Mesa Schools Chief, Denies Affair, Claims Trustees Approved $20,000 Stipend
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.