Carlton principal is moving on

The Carlton school board is searching for a new principal after it accepted the resignation of Ben Midge at its meeting Monday. Under advice from superintendent John Engstrom, the district will seek to fill a position of elementary principal, which was Midge’s job before tacking on the high school grades two years ago in a cost-saving measure for the challenged district.

Engstrom said he expects there to be some remaining responsibilities at the high school, likely 10 percent of the job for a new hire, for which he could fill in alongside a part-time principal at the high school.

“The timing is just right,” Midge said Tuesday. He will return to southeastern Minnesota, in the Rochester area, as an elementary principal in the Dover-Eyota district. Before coming to Carlton five years ago, he taught for nine years in Plainview, just north of Dover and Eyota. He said he and his wife have always discussed returning to the area. The key was convincing his six children, who all attend Carlton schools, to make the move. “That was a big factor,” he said. “They are doing well with it.”