The Oregon Government Ethics Commission opened an investigation into Crook County High School Principal Jake Huffman, citing Huffman’s years-long use of district resources for a for-profit business he runs.

The commission has 180 days to investigate and prepare a report on the issue. The investigation was opened on May 9.

Huffman owns Central Oregon Wrestling Academy LLC. Between April 2022 and December 2024, the wrestling academy did not have a contract to use Crook County High’s gym, but used the space regardless, said the commission’s preliminary investigator Andrew McIntyre, during the commission meeting.

The academy further used the space when another wrestling organization, Cowboy Mat Club, had already booked its use. The academy would have been charged a fee for use of the space, while the mat club would not have been due to the district classification of the organizations.

Central Oregon Wrestling Academy LLC would have been required to pay $20 per hour to use the gym, and according to McIntyre, the academy did not pay those fees between April 2022 and December 2024. Starting Dec. 22, 2024, the academy began a contract with Crook County Schools to use the gym, though it was unclear whether the organization has been paying for it.

Huffman did not disclose a conflict of interest, said McIntyre, who recommended the case move forward to be investigated.

During the meeting, Huffman said, “I just want to cooperate however I can. I did use Cowboy Mat Club’s time in the gym to run my practice. Cowboy Mat Club asked me to run the advanced portion of the practice so I did do that. As soon as I knew I wasn’t supposed to do that, I got a contract signed, so that the entities were separate, so basically I have my own gym space now.”

Huffman said he wasn’t aware he would need to fill out a conflict of interest form.

“A lot of this is probably my own fault because I didn’t do the necessary research to figure out what I needed to do,” he said, adding that his organization probably shouldn’t be an LLC because it doesn’t make much money. “At the end of the day, all we want to do is provide an opportunity for students to get better at wrestling…It wasn’t something I was trying to do purposely to take advantage of anything.”

Crook County Schools Interim Superintendent Joel Hoff said in a statement, “As the district became aware of a gym scheduling issue last winter, the HR department conducted a thorough internal investigation. Mr. Huffman accepted full responsibility for not properly scheduling the gym and implemented corrective measures to ensure he followed the correct process moving forward. The district remains committed to working collaboratively with OGEC to ensure this matter is fully resolved.”

The commission voted unanimously to investigate Huffman’s use of and financial gain from district facilities.