Rod Martin’s fate topic of Wednesday meeting
Rod Martin’s fate topic of Wednesday meeting
By JOHN PEPIN Journal Munising Bureau
NEWBERRY — Two important dates have been set in determining the fate of Tahquamenon Area Schools Superintendent Rod Martin.
Martin, 53, was convicted by a Luce County District Court jury on July 28 of assaulting teacher and contract negotiations team member Susan Pann earlier this year.
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Tahquamenon school board will meet in special session to discuss an independent investigation of the case by an educational consultant hired in March by the school board, which largely sought to determine if Martin violated any school policies.
The school board will meet in the school library. At that meeting, the results of the internal investigation will be made public.
The investigation was done by former Gladstone schools Superintendent Tom Watson, who testified during Martin’s trial that he interviewed 34 people for his investigation.
At the meeting, the school board will likely make some type of decision on how it will deal with Martin’s employment with the school district and his 2-year contract.
Martin began working for the school district in early June 2005.
The next court date for Martin is at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 24, when he will be sentenced for forcefully grabbing Pann by the upper left arm, resulting in his conviction of the village misdemeanor.
Martin could face up to 93 days in county jail and a fine of up to $500 when he is sentenced before 92nd District Court Judge Beth Ann Gibson.
During the two-day trial in Newberry, Newberry Village Prosecutor James Robinson said in closing arguments he believed Martin had quietly, yet forcefully, intimidated Pann by grabbing her arm and squeezing, pulling her close and talking directly into her face from a few inches away.
Pann said she believed Martin had been angry after she exposed in front of a school contract negotiating team that Martin had privately said he would get another teacher hired for the Curtis school where she taught.
Martin took Pann’s arm and said he’d get her the teacher she wanted, if she promised to keep their conversation quiet and she gave him time to convince board members to hire the teacher.
The conversation and assault took place behind some partitions during a caucus break in contract negotiations in an elementary school library on Jan. 5.
Several other people were in the room during the incident, but only one claimed to witness the incident, testifying she saw no trouble taking place.
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