The Plumas Unified School District board of trustees officially accepted the resignation of Superintendent William Roderick when it met in Portola Oct. 9.
The vote was 4-0, with Trustee Chelsea Harrison absent due to a prior commitment.
Roderick’s status has been in limbo since the trustees placed him on paid administrative leave Sept. 11 following a closed session held during a regularly scheduled meeting. The vote was 5-0, said David Keller, president of the board that governs K-12 public schools throughout Plumas County. The trustees appointed Assistant Superintendent Melissa Leal as acting superintendent at a special meeting Sept. 13.
Roderick was informed of the action immediately following the meeting. “At that point we did not tell him the specifics of the cause,” Keller said.
Two weeks after placing Roderick on administrative leave, the trustees held a special meeting Sept. 26. The agenda listed closed session items under the government code for public employment, with specific details that included personnel transactions, employee evaluations, employee discipline, dismissal, release, reassignment and complaints.
The trustees took no action on Sept. 26, Keller said. Contacted again Sept. 30, he said the trustees were meeting with their attorneys and would likely take no action before Oct. 9.
Roderick resigns
On Sept. 26, the day of the special meeting, Roderick submitted a one-page letter to Keller resigning as district superintendent of schools as well as superintendent of the Plumas County Office of Education. Both resignations are “irrevocable” and effective at the close of business Oct. 1, the letter states.
“There are no qualifying issues. He resigned. We accepted.”
David Keller, Plumas Unified School District board president
The school board had been silent on Roderick’s resignations until it met in regular session Oct. 9. Asked if there were any attachments or conditions to the board action, Keller said no.
“There are no qualifying issues. He resigned. We accepted,” he said in an email to The Plumas Sun.
The PUSD board has not publicly disclosed the basis for suspending Roderick with pay Sept. 11. The government codes cited in the agenda for the closed session refer generally to labor negotiations and salaries and fringe benefits.
School trustees hired Roderick as PUSD superintendent in July 2022 to succeed Terry Oestreich, who retired in June 2022. Before accepting the Plumas position, Roderick 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.
The Plumas school district is in the process of seeking an interim superintendent while it conducts a search for a permanent superintendent, Keller said. Meanwhile, Leal remains the district’s acting superintendent. The superintendent of the county office of education is an elected position. Refilling it, at least on an interim basis, is a priority, Keller said, “and it will be filled soon.” Any appointment would be temporary until a countywide election can be held.
PUSD board rescinds developer fee
In other action Oct. 9, the school board rescinded a controversial developer fee that imposed a $5.17 per square foot fee on new residential construction. News of the fee came as a surprise and was met with alarm by most county agencies.
Keller said the move to adopt the fee “wasn’t done right,” and he apologized for the process. He told the Plumas County Board of Supervisors Oct. 8 that the board planned to rescind its Sept. 11 action when it met Oct. 9.
The vote for recension was 4-0, with Trustee Harrison absent.
