Carlton superintendent takes another job

Gwen Carman, superintendent of the Carlton school district, has resigned. In a letter to school board chairwoman LaRae Lehto dated April 14, Carman said she had accepted the superintendent position in the Lewiston-Altura school district in southeastern Minnesota. Her resignation will be effective June 30. Her new job begins with the start of the school calendar year on July 1.

Carman had interviewed for at least three superintendent jobs in the past few months. She was a finalist in Minnesota districts in Mora and St. James.

Carman will leave the district in the throes of consolidation discussions with Wrenshall. She wrote in her letter to Lehto that she would fulfill her duties as best she could in the next few months and offered to help in any transition for her replacement, including after July 1.

Carman was an elementary teacher and principal for nearly 25 years in Grand Marais for the Cook County district before being named Carlton superintendent in 2016.

Lewiston-Altura has three schools — elementary, middle and high schools — and a total student population of 733. Carlton’s student count is 464. Lewiston is located between Winona on the state border with Wisconsin and Rochester.

The Carlton school board is meeting in a regular session tonight at 7 p.m. The Pine Knot News will have more on this story as it develops this week.