Irvine Principal Is Reassigned Pending Result of Investigation

An Irvine elementary school principal, under investigation by the district attorney’s office regarding alleged misallocation of school funds, has been reassigned to administrative duties, according a spokeswoman for the Irvine Unified School District.

Beginning Monday, R. James Sleeper, principal of Bonita Canyon Elementary School, will be working in the district office, according to Fran Norton, administrative assistant to the superintendent. The reassignment will continue, pending a decision by the Orange County district attorney’s office on whether to charge Sleeper, 45, in connection with misallocation of $1,700 in school funds.

D. L. Wright, deputy district attorney in charge of Harbor Municipal Court, said he was reviewing the case, and “it’s a very close issue” as to whether to prosecute.

Irvine Police Lt. Al Muir said discrepancies were reported to authorities and an internal investigation was initiated, with the assistance of accounting personnel. The investigation was completed Feb. 3 and reported to the district attorney’s office. Muir said the case was complicated and that he was “not entirely dissatisfied that it has taken this long” for prosecutors to consider it.

Attempts to interview Sleeper, who has been principal of the school since 1980, were unsuccessful.