The Teachers Are Finally Speaking Out

In December 2010, news broke about the , the head of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The teachers said nothing. 

Not long after, the amorous emails were disclosed in a report by the Orange County Register. The teachers said nothing.

Hubbard then took administrative leave with full pay, meaning that Paul Reed, the assistant superintendent, had to take the helm asking for and receiving a raise that equaled Hubbard’s salary. Again, the teachers said nothing. 

In June, Hubbard decided (unilaterally) to .

Just last month was added that involved Nora Roque, a transfer to N-MUSD in 2008, who was hired as coordinator of administrative services and in 2010 was made director of classified personnel, ostensibly with the proper vetting and procedures. Finally, the teachers decided to speak.

This is a tricky situation for the teachers because they believe in “innocent until proven guilty,” so they have heretofore said nothing.

Because of Hubbard’s behavior in taking five months off to “prepare his case” (which would be impossible for any other district employee), his lack of concern for the financial position in which he has put the district and succeeding in making N-MUSD a joke, the teachers are finally speaking.

Last week Kimberly Claytor, president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, presented Hubbard with the resolution calling for a vote of "no-confidence." She didn’t really have to give him warning, as he certainly didn’t discuss any of his odd events with the executive board of the federation, nor did he apologize to the teachers directly, although he continues to shower praise and humbleness  all over the board, and the PTA. Ms. Claytor alerted him because it was the right thing to do.

The “No-Confidence Resolution” reads as follows:

NMFT RESOLUTION

CALLING FOR A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE OF SUPERINTENDENT JEFFREY HUBBARD

Whereas, Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard was and is required to prepare and defend criminal charges filed against him by the Los Angeles District Attorney based on allegations stemming from his actions while serving as Superintendent  of Beverly Hills Unified School District: and

Whereas, Hubbard admittedly authored explicit and inappropriate electronic mail and exhibited a history of showing favoritism toward high-level administrators, setting a low standard of conduct for all students and employees of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s Board of Education has provided executive level compensation and leave of absence to Hubbard to prepare his legal defense concerning these allegations from his previous employment: and

Whereas, Hubbard’s paid leave of absence may well turn out to be a gift of public funds, but regardless is contrary to the interests of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s core educational mission: and

Whereas the (approximately) $125,000 paid to Hubbard while on leave was diverted from benefiting students in the classroom and instead was used for work unrelated to the district’s educational mission: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District‘s Board of Education preference for Hubbard far exceeds any reasonable benefit that he or any other district employee could or should expect: and

Whereas, the multiple felony counts Jeffrey Hubbard is on trial for have been and will continue to be a distraction that hinders his job performance: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers is the appropriate forum for a referendum of these essential issues to provide a collective voice to the concerns of our membership: and

Whereas, the leadership of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers has been petitioned by members throughout the district to publicly express the collective voice of the membership.

Therefore, be it resolved that the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers Executive Board and Site Representative Assembly recommend a vote of no-confidence for Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard.

Be it further resolved that the findings of the vote be presented to the NMUSD Board of Trustees

Hubbard sent an email to the employees of the district that can only be defined as self-serving. In his email, he blames the vote of no-confidence on the NMFT ‘s unhappiness over the last contract, (completely exonerating himself). He goes on to brag about the district’s successes (even though he was gone for most of the school year). In his hurry to flaunt his accomplishments, he forgot to mention that the teachers have taken a cut in pay up to $2,000 out of pocket for benefits. They have experienced layoffs and the multitude of human resource errors connected to those layoffs. He then finally talks about how great the employees are, which he has previously neglected to do, and ends with a tip of the hat to religion.

Sadly, this letter is a perfect example of the man himself.

In my opinion, he should have resigned after the email debacle, or, at the very least, taken a cut in salary and apologized to the entire community, including the excellent employees. 

The cautious support of the CSEA (California School Employees Association)  and the principals is understandable considering that the leadership of the CSEA resides at the district office, and the principals answer directly to the superintendent. Can you say “awkward and “retaliation”?

So the teachers' leadership has spoken, and although the vote has not been counted at this time as it takes place next week, the administration is already spinning it, but they won’t be able to spin it enough. The confidence in Hubbard is gone.