School board member says Woodland Hills superintendent was suspended for questioning past finances
It's been three months since the Woodland Hills School District put its superintendent on administrative leave, and the district continues to operate under a cloud of controversy.
The school board still isn't saying why, and rumors have swirled about the investigation into Superintendent Joe Maluchnik. However, one board member is calling Maluchnik a whistleblower, saying he's being railroaded for questioning past financial practices.
Woodland Hills controversy
It's a school district in crisis. It has struggled academically, with test scores showing the vast majority of students performing far below proficiency in math and English. And while the district cites improvements in quelling fights and maintaining order, outside its walls, eight of its teenage students have died in homicides in recent years.
And yet for the past three months, Woodland Hills has been a rudderless ship, with Maluchnik on leave and under an internal investigation. Though the public has been clamoring for answers, at its last meeting, the majority of the board wouldn't state the reason for the move but said that will soon become clear.
"There will be something that will come to this to the floor that will squash all of this, that will put it all to rest," Woodland Hills School Board Vice President Karen Lyons said. "Then no one will have anything to say."
In November, the board hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation, and indications are that it is finally coming to an end. Neither Maluchnik nor his attorney is commenting, but sources say there is now a draft of the findings, and they have been given time to respond.
Board member raises questions
While the majority of the board says it's prohibited by law from discussing the probe, minority member Darnika Reed says the others want to get rid of Maluchnik for raising questions about district finances.
"I believe wholeheartedly the superintendent is a whistleblower," Reed said.
KDKA has learned that after becoming superintendent, Maluchnik did raise concerns about several contracts, including the $20 million renovation of Edgewood Elementary STEAM Academy. The district was forced to pay a $600,000 change order when Franjo Construction was ordered to pay workers prevailing wage. And state Rep. Abigail Salisbury has called on the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office to investigate.
But the majority of the board has released a statement saying there has been no financial impropriety. And while still not divulging the nature of the probe, Lyons pointed to a 2017 lawsuit Maluchnik filed against the Greensburg Salem School District, where he had worked as an associate principal. The district paid Maluchnik a $225,000 settlement after he claimed he was blackballed from promotion there.
