Carman resigns as Carlton superintendent

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.

The Carlton school board voted to accept the resignation during its regular meeting Monday, which was held online.

“We’re sad to see her go,” board chairwoman LaRae Lehto said.

“This is not easy for me,” Carman told the board.

Board member Tim Hagenah said he recalled the decision to hire Carman in 2016. “You were the best fit and you still are,” he said.

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.

The board will now decide how to proceed, and Lehto laid out her vision after talking with the Minnesota School Boards Association, which often helps districts with school administration staff searches.

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.

Lehto said the board would likely be looking for an interim superintendent to serve for one year. It would likely be a retired administrator, she said. With the help of the MSBA, the district “could have someone in a matter of weeks,” Lehto said.

The MSBA is aware of the consolidation details a new superintendent would take on along with regular duties, Lehto said.

The board will discuss the possibility of Ben Midge, the current activities director and elementary and middle school principal at the South Terrace school, taking on K-12 principal duties. The district has gone through three high school principals in the past year. A K-12 principal would likely lead to a dean of students position in order to have an administrator at both South Terrace and the high school. That would clear an interim superintendent of frontline duties with students and staff.

Board members said that if Midge wants to take on the K-12 job, they would welcome it. It will discuss administrative changes in future meetings.

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.

Consolidation talks

A joint committee of Carlton and Wrenshall school board members continues to meet, ironing out what changes might look like at their respective schools if a consolidation were to occur. Carlton school board member Ann Gustafson said the discussions were going “OK” despite differences in where athletic facilities will go and what those would look like.

The districts are also in talks about a preliminary agreement for a general contractor for any work under a consolidation plan.

Committee meetings, which are being streamed online, are open to the public and each district will post dates and times for them on the district websites.

A bill that would provide funding for consolidation is still alive in the state legislature despite the interruption in the current session due to COVID-19 precautions.

“Things are moving along nicely,” Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro said. She said final word on the bill will still likely be known by the middle of May. Should it pass, the districts would set an August referendum date asking residents to pass a consolidation plan. A survey sent to residents over the winter showed overwhelming support for consolidation and the costs associated with it.