The Woodland Hills School Board’s April meetings will be held online-only.
In a legal advertisement, the board said in a statement that, in recent weeks, “there have been instances of disruptive behavior during public meetings as well as verbal harassment directed toward board members and district administrators following adjournment.
“We want to be clear: respectful engagement is expected from everyone — just as it is expected of us as board members,” it continued.
The April 8 and April 15 board meetings will be held through a virtual, Zoom format. There will be no committee meeting in April.
Additional safety and security measures will be reviewed and implemented while the board holds its April meetings virtually, the statement said.
TribLive reached out to all board members regarding the statement. Laura Arthrell referred questions to board president Karen Lyons; Terri Lawson declined comment; no other board members responded.
Woodland Hills’ board has been embroiled in controversy over the past months.
On March 4, the board voted 4-2 with one abstention to place Superintendent Joe Maluchnik on unpaid leave, as the district had faced allegations of misuse of funds and questions surrounding Maluchnik’s leave.
At that meeting, some board members found issues with the report investigating allegations of misconduct raised regarding district employees. Others agreed with the report’s recommendation.
Prior to that vote, Maluchnik and his attorney released a statement that Maluchnik was retaliated against after he raised concerns about the district’s fiscal practices. The board denies that statement, district solicitor Matthew Racunas has said.
At the board’s March 18 meeting, directors voted 7-1 to censure Lawson and requested she resign from the board following criminal charges filed against her connected to alleged credit card misuse when she was Rankin’s borough manager.
Lawson and her attorney, Phil DiLucente, have said she is not admitting guilt.
In February, the state Office of the Budget opened an investigation into the district’s finances, according to a letter posted online from state Rep. Abigail Salisbury, D-Swissvale.
The letter said the investigation will look into the district’s debt, procurement cards, contracting and bidding as well as the annual review of the district’s superintendent.
At a Feb. 18 meeting, Racunas, the solicitor, said the board was not aware of any financial misappropriations within the district.