New Flathead principal rescinds acceptance after plagiarism allegations

John Blackman, who was slated to officially become the new Flathead High School principal on July 1, has rescinded his acceptance of the position following plagiarism allegations.

Blackman is currently an assistant superintendent in the Blaine County School District in Idaho.

The document in question was an email Blackman sent to Flathead staff introducing himself, according to district administrators. Questions about the email’s content being plagiarized were raised by high school staff members, according Kalispell Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Andrea Johnson.

The plagiarism allegations were investigated and verified according to Johnson, and Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Mark Flatau updated Flathead staff on June 23 stating that “... we became aware that the majority of that email was plagiarized. After much discussion and deliberation, it was decided that it would be best if John rescinded his acceptance of the offer and not take the position as Principal for Flathead.”

Blackman had rescinded his letter of intent on June 21 in a letter to Flatau thanking him and the hiring team for the opportunity.

Blackman emailed a response to the Daily Inter Lake requesting comments on the allegations, stating “I have rescinded my acceptance of the principal position at Flathead High School,” without going into further details.

THE RECOMMENDATION to hire Blackman came from a 16-person hiring committee composed of staff, parents, administrators and school board trustees and approved by the school board of trustees on June 13.

Blackman was among four finalists interviewed, including Tres Genger, principal Lindbergh High School in Renton, Washington; Peter Hamilton Sr., Principal at Cut Bank High School in Cut Bank; and Michele Paine, assistant principal at Flathead High School.

Following Blackman’s decision to step down, the hiring team unanimously decided to offer the position to its second choice, Genger. However Genger did not accept the position, according to Flatau.

“He genuinely considered the offer and thanked us for the opportunity but did turn it down today. The real sticking point was his wife not having a job. She is a secondary math teacher and of course I could not guarantee employment,” Flatau stated in the June 23 update to Flathead staff.

The unexpected vacancy puts the district in a time crunch relative to the first day of the 2017-18 school year on Aug. 30.

“We will be working diligently to develop the best plan to meet the needs of Flathead High School and continue the strong leadership it has experienced the past many years,” Flatau said.

The district will recommend that Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees approve hiring an interim principal or come up with an alternative plan for the 2017-18 school year at a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Kalispell Middle School library. The Flathead principal position will likely be re-posted in January 2018.

“By going this route, it will allow us to open this position early and ensure that we have a strong applicant pool,” Flatau said. “The administrative team and staff at Flathead High School are experienced and will certainly be ready for the upcoming school year.”

The Flathead principal position was initially posted in April following the resignation of Peter Fusaro, who took a position at Flathead Valley Community College as the Trades and Industrial Arts Department director. Fusaro’s contract ends Friday.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.