Education

Minn. Principal Suspended Over Alleged Pot Sale

TRUMAN, Minn. (AP) ― A southern Minnesota school principal has been suspended without pay after the school board said he mishandled an incident at his school.

The Truman School Board's action against Brian Shanks came in the wake of an alleged drug sale involving students at the school. The board also issued an oral reprimand to Superintendent John Larson, saying he failed to take immediate action when he learned about Shanks' behavior.

Phone messages left by The Associated Press for Shanks and Larson were not immediately returned on Friday.

A parent confronted school administrators with marijuana that she said her son purchased at the school. That parent and others complained at a school board meeting in May that Shanks didn't adequately discipline the students allegedly involved in the sale.

Shanks and Larson admitted at that meeting that they should have notified authorities about the marijuana sooner.

School board chairman Greg Graif said members came to a consensus over the disciplinary action against the administrators. But he also said the incident at the school had been "blown out of proportion."

Police have investigated the incident but no charges have been filed, Graif said.

"We need to put this behind us for the betterment of everybody," he said.
Shanks' six-day suspension began on Tuesday.

Truman is located about 67 miles northwest of Albert Lea.

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