Three people testified Monday that suspended Woodland Hills Superintendent Joe Maluchnik was professional and took an interest in addressing financial and policy issues that had been raised over the years.
Monday was the fourth night of hearings related to Maluchnik and his employment at Woodland Hills. Maluchnik was hired in 2025 and placed on unpaid leave in March. He faces 10 allegations related to gender-based discrimination and harassment, claims he and his attorney, Manning J. O’Connor, deny.
Allegations made in previous hearings accuse Maluchnik of promoting only male administrators and speaking or acting in a way that made female staff members feel uncomfortable and excluded from district decision-making.
The accusations were made by business manager Jill Regan; Pam White, assistant to the superintendent for administrative services; Leah Sylvis, director of special education; and teacher Lori McDowell. Attorney Gretchen Love, who wrote the report investigating allegations against Maluchnik, previously testified that she found the claims against Maluchnik to be credible.
But Monday was the first day of the hearing for witnesses called by Maluchnik’s defense to testify.
Kelly Carns, the district’s supervisor of accounting services; former board member Sara Raszewski; and community member Timothy Reed testified that their interactions with Maluchnik were positive. They said he appeared to take an interest in community feedback and address financial and policy issues in the district.
The witnesses all testified there was never a board vote in January to declare the superintendent position vacant, contrary to a board affirmation statement that claimed the decision was made in a 9-0 vote. Additionally, they testified that all nine board members did not attend that meeting, rendering that affirmation statement impossible.
Reed testified he had been analyzing district finances for the past couple of years. When he raised concerns or contradictions in the data, Reed said previous administrators either doubled down on their claims or ignored him. Instead, Maluchnik was more open to reviewing the issues and began taking steps to correct things, Reed said.
“It was the first time an administrator made a point of not only acknowledging my concerns but taking action to make the district follow policy in the future,” Reed said.
Allison Genard, an attorney representing Woodland Hills, noted the district is audited every year. In response to Genard, Carns testified the district has never failed an audit.
Raszewski, who served on the board from late 2023 to 2025, testified she voted to hire Maluchnik. She said Maluchnik was the right person to lead the district and still believes so.
Raszewski summarized Maluchnik’s conflict with Woodland Hills as a “dog and pony show that irritates me greatly.” She said that when the board first learned of the allegations in November, they were exaggerated. She testified the complainants had more appropriate channels to raise concerns and that the hearing against Maluchnik wasn’t substantiated.
“(Maluchnik) was engaged,” Raszewski said. “He was happy to listen to the public and ask questions, and wanted to put in his own input and have a superintendent’s report that he made at the end of the meetings.”
Genard tried to challenge Raszewski’s and Reed’s testimony, noting their attendance at a prior hearing and comments made by Raszewski on Facebook. But when questioned by Maluchnik’s attorneys, both witnesses testified their attendance at prior hearings had no impact on their testimony or their ability to tell the truth.
Carns testified she found Maluchnik to be honest and respectable and that she felt other administrators did not respect him. She referenced a comment Regan testified to previously, where Regan indicated it was either her or Maluchnik.
Carns said she stepped down from her role as the school board’s secretary and is resigning from the district at the end of this month for a job that she said more morally aligns with her values.
“I’m a very honest person,” Carns said. “I am not getting involved in anything that is not going to be the right way to do it.”
Hearing officer Megan Turnbull said the hearing will continue at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Woodland Hills High School auditorium.
Both Genard and Maluchnik declined to comment after Monday’s hearing.