LOS ANGELES — Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard's felony arraignment on charges of misappropriation of public funds was postponed Monday till next week as prosecutors and attorneys argued over whether the co-defendant, Karen Anne Christiansen, was a flight risk and before which criminal judge the case should be heard.
Ultimately Christiansen, 52, was taken into custody and bail was set for $2 million, but neither Hubbard or Christiansen has been officially arraigned, said Los Angeles County Deputy District Atty. Juliet Schmidt.
The arraignment of both Christiansen and Hubbard is now set for Jan. 3 before Beverly Hills Courthouse Judge Eldon Fox.
Hubbard, 53, is alleged to have given Christiansen an unauthorized stipend of $20,000 and an increase in her car allowance – from $100 a month to $500 a month — while he was chief of the Beverly Hills school district in September 2005 and February 2006 and she served that district as its director of planning and services, according to the criminal complaint filed on Dec. 9.
