The Plumas Unified School District governing board has placed Superintendent William Roderick on paid administrative leave and appointed Assistant Superintendent Melissa Leal as acting superintendent.
The actions were taken at two separate PUSD board meetings, both in sessions closed to the public.
The decision to place Roderick on paid leave occurred Sept. 11 at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting. The vote was 5-0, said David Keller, president of the board that governs K-12 public schools throughout Plumas County.
Roderick was informed of the action immediately following the meeting, Keller said. “At that point we did not tell him the specifics of the cause,” he said.
Subsequently a PUSD spokesman informed Roderick’s attorney, David S. Bristol, of Solano Beach, of the details supporting the action. Bristol was not available for comment to The Plumas Sun.
The second PUSD board action occurred Friday, Sept. 13, at a special meeting. The board announced Leal’s appointment when it emerged from an hour-long closed session on a 4-0 vote. Governing board clerk Joleen Cline was traveling and did not attend the meeting, Keller said.
“The board needs to do the right thing. … We need to be thoughtful.”
David Keller, Plumas Unified School district board president
Leal is the school district’s assistant superintendent of educational services. She was not in her office Sept. 16 and did not return calls from The Plumas Sun seeking her comment.
Asked how long Leal might serve as acting district superintendent, Keller said it could be “the rest of the school year” or “a short while.”
He declined to elaborate on the cause of Roderick’s temporary replacement.
“The board needs to do the right thing,” he said. “We need to be thoughtful.”
The government codes cited in the agendas of the two closed-session PUSD board meetings refer to labor negotiations and salaries and fringe benefits.
Roderick holds two offices in Plumas County. In addition to his appointment as superintendent of schools, he also serves as superintendent of the Plumas County Office of Education.
The PUSD board actions apply directly to the unified school district, said Keller. Because the two functions are closely related, Roderick’s paid administrative leave might have some effect on the operation of the county education office, he said.
Roderick has been PUSD superintendent since July 2022. He was selected by the board to succeed Terry Oestreich, who retired in June 2022.
Before being hired in Plumas County he was the senior director of student services at the Lake County Office of Education. He began his career in 2000 as a high school geography teacher, later becoming an athletic director, vice principal and principal in the Placer Union High School District.
Roderick served for 12 years as the principal of Middletown High School in Lake County, where he also coached football, wrestling, and track and field. During his tenure at Middletown High School, the community was devastated by the Valley Fire. Roderick led the school district’s recovery efforts, including getting the high school reopened and providing support for students, families and staff. Roderick did not return calls from The Plumas Sun seeking his comment.
