News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Jake Huffman responds to the board’s questions at the Onaway Area Community School District Board of Education’s special meeting on Thursday night.

ONAWAY — The Onaway Area Community School District Board of Education appointed a new interim superintendent at their board meeting on Thursday night after former Interim Superintendent Dan Bauer’s updated resignation letter.

The board voted unanimously for Jake Huffman, who currently teaches math to middle schoolers at Onaway, to become the new interim superintendent.

Bauer’s last day was supposed to be April 4 after he announced his resignation at a special board meeting on Jan. 30.

The updated resignation date comes after community member James Gibson contacted the state about Bauer’s school administrator certificate, which he believed had expired, board president Mike Hart said in a comment after the meeting.

The state investigated the matter and found that Bauer’s certificate had, in fact, expired.

Bauer also held a school administrator permit that did not expire until August.

However, an extension on Bauer’s certificate expired six months after Bauer was hired by the school district. Holding just the permit was not enough for Bauer to continue as interim superintendent.

Hart said that the certificate would have expired sometime in January. The school district has to pay a fine from the date the certificate expired to the date when Bauer officially left his position.

“Even the state said it’s understandable that you could be confused by this because the permit was different than the certification,” Hart said.

“Dan apologized,” Hart continued. “He took full responsibility for his mistake, which I thought was good, and it was an honest mistake. I really believe it was just an honest mistake, a misunderstanding of how his permit worked.”

The board had to move quickly after Bauer’s resignation since they cannot go any period of time without a superintendent. Huffman already held a school administrator certificate, so the board moved to hire him for the interim position.

Board members asked Huffman a series of questions before they voted to appoint him.

Asked how his position as superintendent would affect his teaching schedule, Huffman said that he would continue teaching his first two block classes, but his other two classes would be taken over by other math staff at the school.

Huffman was also asked how he would handle moments of distress and discord on the board.

“I spent 14 years as superintendent in Pentwater and Bath, and you know, occasionally, these types of flares come up,” he said. “And you have to work your way through them and make sure that you’re following the appropriate process and such.”

Huffman also said he has had experience working with bond proposals.

Hart asked Huffman whether he would be comfortable being straightforward and honest with the board.

“At this point in my career and in my life, that’s what you’re getting from me, is honesty,” he said.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

* The board voted unanimously to hire Tiffany Wade as the part-time special education coordinator.

* The board discussed having a District Operations Consultant to oversee Huffman’s transition but ultimately decided that this wasn’t necessary as they trusted Huffman’s past experience.

* The board discussed approving a third-party fact-finding investigation but tabled the vote on the investigation until the next regular meeting.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.