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Parent urges district policy on employee conduct after staff member engaged on parent forum
Summary
A parent told the Woodland Hills School District board Jan. 22 that district employees should be barred from harassing parents on unofficial parent pages and asked the district to adopt clear rules for staff conduct on public forums.
John Jeffers, a parent, used the meeting’s public‑comment period Jan. 22 to urge the Woodland Hills School District to adopt a clear policy limiting how district employees engage with parents on public social‑media forums.
“Individuals employed by the district should not be on district parent pages, accosting and harassing parents when they say their piece on public forums,” Jeffers said. He said he followed the chain of command before speaking to the board and described an incident in which a district employee at Dixon “went on and accosted and harassed” him and another parent on a parent page.
Jeffers urged the board to require a written policy that defines “what, when, and how” employees may engage parents online. “No parent should have to go through and see what this individual decided to do in the smart comments they decided to make while representing the district as an employee,” he said.
The board did not take formal action during the meeting. Board president Terry Lawson thanked Jeffers for his comment; a board member later asked the district administration to follow up outside the meeting with any information relevant to the concern.
Ending: The district did not announce a new policy at the Jan. 22 meeting; Jeffers said he had pursued the matter with a building principal and human resources before addressing the board.
