Woodland CCSD 50’s board on July 24 approved the employment of a restorative practices facilitator but held a lengthy discussion about HR reporting practices and transparency for hires.

Lede: The board voted to approve hiring Jennifer Plusha as restorative practices facilitator, effective Aug. 18, 2025; the motion passed with four yes votes and two abstentions. At the same meeting members removed the broader human resources report from the consent agenda to discuss the level of background detail provided for recommended hires.

Why it matters: Board members said the change in how the district presents hiring information — a condensed HR report listing names, positions and start dates without the fuller hiring packets the board sometimes received previously — reduced their ability to ask informed, public questions about hires. Some board members said that administrative hires will continue to receive full background materials, but they asked administration to return with a more consistent and accessible format for future HR reports.

What happened at the meeting: A board member asked that item 11a be removed from the consent agenda and handled as an action item; administration and multiple board members then debated whether the consent‑agenda format was sufficiently transparent. Dr. Maycheck (Superintendent) told the board the recommended hires had passed background and reference checks and that administrative hires would continue to be accompanied by fuller hire packets. After discussion, the board approved the restorative practices hire with two abstentions from members who had a possible conflict; the HR report then moved to an action item and was subsequently approved after additional debate and agreed formatting changes for future packets.

Votes and procedure: The restorative practices facilitator motion passed with 4 yes, 2 abstentions (recorded on the roll call). For the broader HR report, the board debated the format and requested that the listing be reorganized (alphabetized and grouped by location and category) and that hire entries be hyperlinked to background documents for board and public review.

Ending: Administration said it would restore or provide links to background hire materials for future packets for transparency, bring revised consent/HR materials to the board, and work with the board to refine a consistent format for hire reporting.