Woodland Hills School Board holds first meeting since head football coach was placed on leave

CHURCHILL, Pa. — The Woodland Hills School Board did not vote on the future of the district’s high school football coach on Wednesday.

Channel 11 first told you earlier this week that Brian Tarrant had been suspended by the district for a year for violating WPIAL guidelines. It’s unclear what violation he’s accused of committing.

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Whether to place Tarrant on unpaid leave for the 2026-2027 school year was on Wednesday evening’s agenda. Just before the scheduled vote, it was removed. No action was taken.

It’s not clear why or what happens next. 

Channel 11 attempted to get clarification from Board President Karen Lyons. She refused to comment and directed us to district solicitor Matthew Racunas. 

“Everything will be done through our media team,” he said.

A member of the media team told us they will “explain more later on.” He did not say when. 

Board member Darnika Reed told us she couldn’t say much, either. 

“There hasn’t been a change as far as his status at all today,” she said. 

One man said he didn’t have a problem with the board delaying action. 

“I don’t know what happened, if there’s more investigations to come. That may have been an appropriate reaction, but it seems a lot of community members feel he shouldn’t be around students right now,” he said. 

Another man did speak up on Tarrant’s behalf. 

“If Coach Tarrant is being suspended for alleged WPIAL or PIAA violations, why wouldn’t Woodland Hills support him in taking it through the established WPIAL process?” he said. “Even if there is clear evidence that a violation occurred, Coach Tarrant should still have an opportunity to respond.” 

Channel 11 spoke with Tarrant over the phone prior to the meeting. He told us he could not comment at this time. 

Also at the meeting, board members voted to accept the resignations of two of their own. Terri Lawson resigned following legal troubles that do not involve the district. 

Laura Arthrell also resigned for personal reasons.

Both Lawson and Arthrell voted in favor of removing Superintendent Joe Maluchnik in August. The final vote was 5-4.

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