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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

New principal hired in Ely

Board members split over decision

Keith Vandervort
Posted 6/20/13

ELY – Dan Bettin was hired as the new 6-12 principal Wednesday night, but it wasn’t easy.

After school board members reviewed information concerning a background check on the candidate, …

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New principal hired in Ely

Board members split over decision

Posted

ELY – Dan Bettin was hired as the new 6-12 principal Wednesday night, but it wasn’t easy.

After school board members reviewed information concerning a background check on the candidate, provided by legal counsel Kelly Klum, board member Amy Richter made a motion to not hire Bettin. The motion was supported by Kathy Udovich. The motion failed, with Ray Marsnik, Paul Pengal and Scott Kellerman voting against and Richter and Udovich voting in favor of the motion.

Pengal then made a motion to hire Bettin and Kellerman offered his support.

In the discussion that followed, Richter said she was disappointed and concerned that the school district would bring in a principal “that the Minnesota Department of Education stated there was a preponderance of evidence concerning Bettin and corporal punishment against a student.”

Udovich said, “Some people might take their kids elsewhere and we will lose more money.”

She asked if the principal was in charge of special education in the school and was told that the principal is in charge of special education under the direction of the superintendent. “There might be a bias or feeling against that group of students,” she said, referring to Bettin.

Marsnik said the candidate was cleared of any maltreatment charges. “The police investigated and there were no charges,” he said. “He was disciplined for the incident.”

He continued, “ You can look around and find people in favor or against anyone. I looked into the whole picture and I am happy with the answers I received. I do not condone that type of behavior. We all make mistakes. I talked to many people about him. It is not a pattern. It was a one-time incident. There are lots of rumors going around that are just not factual.”

Richter said, “I am a mom of two boys. One time is too many. I feel I represent many constituents that feel the same way.”

Discussion briefly touched on the hiring process, which was established and used in previous administration hiring searches and states that a majority of school board members would select personnel to fill administrative positions. “To say the board shouldn’t have a say in hiring administrators is simply not true,” Marsnik said.

The motion to hire Bettin passed on a 3-2 vote. Marsnik, Kellerman and Pengal voted in favor. Udovich and Richter voted against.

The board then passed a motion on a 4-1 vote to pay Bettin $78,000 per year for the 6-12 principal position. Richter voted against the motion.

Ely School District, Ely School Board