The City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees placed Chancellor Kimberlee Messina on paid administrative leave Tuesday, Oct. 6, while an independent investigator examines allegations about her handling of district funds and office procedures. Vice Chancellor for Academic and Institutional Affairs David Yee is serving as temporary acting chancellor. Trustees were scheduled to consider hiring an acting chancellor at a special meeting Thursday, Oct. 8. Board President Aliya Chisti said the leave is a non-disciplinary interim measure and does not indicate that the allegations have been substantiated. Messina said she supports a thorough and confidential investigation and is grateful that the board is taking the claims seriously. The review follows a Sept. 4 complaint from Messina’s executive assistant, Mary Grace Esteban, who raised seven concerns about spending and practices in the chancellor’s office. In a letter to Esteban dated Sept. 11, Chisti said the allegations included spending or compensation that may not have received board approval or followed the college’s usual procedures. The claims include that Messina received a monthly expense stipend without trustee approval and that her compensation may have exceeded the amount the board authorized. Esteban also questioned why Messina’s recorded vacation balance remained at 25 days after she took time off in August and October 2025. She alleged that travel requests were approved by the vice chancellor of finance, who reports to Messina, rather than going through the board’s approval process. The complaint also raised questions about payments to a former interim vice chancellor of finance that may have been recorded as contractor payments. Esteban said she was directed to track work hours in the chancellor’s office using an attendance spreadsheet, a practice she said was not used elsewhere at the college. Another allegation concerns a staff lunch charged to Esteban’s City College credit card. Esteban said she reported the charge to human resources and was then told not to use her card for such expenses. She also said the stated purpose of the lunch was later changed and that Messina reprimanded her verbally and in writing over the incident. Separately, questions have been raised about an effort to change the contract of City College’s top lawyer, Amy McLellan. Her agreement required her to pass the California bar exam to continue as the district’s registered in-house counsel. Messina asked trustees in August and September to remove that requirement; the proposed amendment was withdrawn without a vote. The bar requirement had initially been set aside after a state bar attorney determined that the college was not a “governmental entity.” The State Bar later told the San Francisco Chronicle that the initial determination was incorrect. Proposed rule changes could also affect whether McLellan can continue in the role without passing the California exam. Messina became chancellor in June 2025. Her contract runs through June 2028 and provides a $350,000 annual base salary, a $60 monthly cellphone allowance, $15,000 for relocation and up to $10,000 in additional relocation-related expenses. It also allows an annual fringe-benefit allowance capped at the amount available to other full-time managers. The investigation comes as the community college continues to grapple with financial and management challenges. The college has had 13 chancellors in 11 years and has faced recurring financial instability and accreditation concerns.