Woodland Hills superintendent and school board square off at hearing over his firing

The Woodland Hills school board squared off Thursday against the superintendent they're trying to fire in the first of several public sessions, which will see the details of the allegations against him come out into the open.

In March, the school board moved to fire superintendent Joe Maluchnik, but under his contract, Maluchnik has the right to an appeal hearing. 

Back in November, the Woodland Hills school board put Maluchnik on leave, pending the result of an investigation into the alleged harassment and mistreatment of women employees. 

In March, the board moved to fire Maluchnik when the investigation found merit in those claims, but under his contract, Maluchnik has a right to a hearing to defend himself, and Thursday night, he was able to do so through his lawyer in an open forum in front of the board. 

Through the attorney, Maluchnik has maintained that his trouble with the board stems from him questioning financial practices under his predecessor, then-Superintendent Daniel Castagna, "including large administrative buyouts, unusual contracts, Sunshine Act issues, and potential irregularities in bidding processes. After asking for transparency and accountability, he experienced retaliation and a coordinated effort to remove him."

The hearing lasted four hours Thursday night and featured two witnesses. It appeared a lot like a trial. There were lawyers, cross-examinations and objections. 

However, different from a traditional court, the agency bringing the charges — in this case, the school board — is also the jury.

The charges were officially read at the beginning of the meeting. They include neglect of duty, incompetency and intemperance. Specifically, it accuses Maluchnik of having engaged in gender-based discrimination or harassment. The grounds include that he touched a teacher in a closed-door meeting in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

It also says he suggested to female staff that they find another job after they raised concerns about his leadership.

Maluchnik's lawyer, Manning O'Connor, gave what amounted to an opening statement, where he said Maluchnik was hired to establish accountability, but staff were not on board. He said several people engaged in a concerted effort to smear his reputation based on feelings and suspicions.

The two district witnesses were both women who worked under Maluchnik. 

District business manager Jill Regan testified she and other staff members felt raises were only being offered to men. She also said Maluchnik had not offered her sympathy after she faced harassment.

O'Connor worked to poke holes in her credibility.

Another witness said Maluchnik wasn't open to hearing what the issues were, adding she was excluded from conversations.

The witness said Maluchnik exposed her to a hostile work environment both when he was working as the superintendent and in the time since.

When O'Connor questioned how it could be possible he was creating a hostile work environment while he was no longer working as the superintendent, the witness said it was actually what she'd heard on the news and Maluchnik's supporters at public meetings making it hostile. Many of those supporters were at the hearing on Thursday. 

"I haven't heard anything that had to do with harassment," said Tamisha, who was in the audience at the hearing. "I haven't heard anything that says that Dr. Maluchnik has been negligent. I haven't heard anything that substantiates any of the claims that the board has levied against him. It has all seemed more personal, like, 'I'm upset because I didn't get promoted for this role,' or 'I'm upset because you didn't include me in these decisions.' And that's what a leader does."

A unique part of the hearing that upset many people there was that attendees, including KDKA-TV, were barred from filming it, despite it being a public hearing featuring the school board. One man was thrown out of the meeting for filming.

The hearing officer, who acts like a judge, told KDKA we couldn't film because it was a hearing, not a meeting. 

The next hearing date is set for the evening of June 3. The lawyer for the district was Allison Genard.

It's unclear how many sessions it will take before a vote is taken.