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Delavan-Darien School Board approves teacher for administrative post

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Photo by Delavan-Darien School District

Craig Lodahl, Delavan-Darien High School wrestling coach.

DELAVAN — Times change, and a year can make all the difference.

That was the feeling of the majority of the Delavan-Darien School Board.

On Monday, the board voted 5-1 to hire Craig Lodahl as associate principal and athletic director at Delavan-Darien High School.

Lodahl, a former advanced placement science teacher, left the district a year ago to work at Badger High School in Lake Geneva.

The decision came after a meeting was held last week specifically to "discuss possible positions for rehiring Craig Lodahl." After a brief exchange between board members and staff, the board went to closed session for almost two hours. No decision was made.

On Monday, hiring Lodahl appeared on the board's consent agenda. That means his employment was considered along with the positions of five other employees.

In a phone interview before the meeting, board President Jeffrey Scherer stressed that he believed Lodahl was right for the job.

"I think he will make an excellent associate principal and I think he will help heal the district," Scherer said. "He really believes in the blue and gold."

Scherer also cited the number of students who referred to Lodahl as an inspiration.

Both Scherer and board Vice President Joe Peyer have said Lodahl's teaching skills outweigh any concerns about his lack of licensure to be an administrator.

Scherer explained Lodahl currently is working towards the license and would probably have the official certification by the end of the year.

At last week's meeting, Peyer noted licensure exceptions had been made in the past.

In this case however, no other candidates were interviewed for the position.

On Monday, board member Steve Logterman raised the licensure issue again.

Logterman said when some of the current board members were meeting as a community group a year ago, many people were upset that administrators with pending licensure were being hired.

"I didn't think it was a good practice," he said. "I think there was a lot of strong feelings about it."

Scherer said these were unusual times and, as such, might call for different strategies. Peyer nodded in agreement.

Kevin Parker is the current athletic director/associate principal at Delavan-Darien High School. He will continue his role as an associate principal.