Former BHUSD Superintendent Gets 60 Days in Jail

Former Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in jail, three years of felony probation, and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and $23,500 in restitution to the district for misappropriating public funds. 

“The fact that the judge sentenced Hubbard to actual jail time underscores the seriousness of his criminal conviction, but more importantly with his conviction and sentence he will no longer be in a position to breach the public trust as he flagrantly did in Beverly Hills,” said school board President Brian Goldberg, who was not on the board when Hubbard worked for the district. “The key for those that care about public education is that we understand the role of accountability and oversight in ensuring that we do not let this happen again.”

A jury on Jan. 23 , now 55, of two felony counts of misappropriation of public funds for authorizing payments to former facilities director without approval from the school board. He was acquitted of a third misappropriation count related to a different employee.

Hubbard, who had been allowed to remain free on his own recognizance, could have received up to five years in state prison. He was taken into custody as soon as the sentence was read.

Hubbard was fired from his job as superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District one day after his conviction of illegally authorizing two payments of $10,000 each and a $500 monthly car allowance to Christiansen.

Christiansen was convicted Nov. 21, 2011 of four felony counts of conflict of interest related to charges that she secretly negotiated a deal to be an independent BHUSD contractor while performing her duties as the district’s facilities director. She was to four years and four months in prison. Her restitution hearing is scheduled to take place Friday morning.

This report was compiled with information from City News Service.

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