Bittman to retire early to care for parents; timing allows board to find successor

by Jim Boyle

Editor

With mostly heavy hearts and a few questions from the most outspoken critic of the superintendent on the board, the Elk River Area School Board on a 6-1 vote approved Dan Bittman’s plan to retire effective Dec. 31, 2024, at its May 28 special meeting.

Bittman informed the School Board the week before that he would not be asking them for a fourth contract. He had also informed the board of his plans to eventually go on a paid family medical leave to care full-time for his aging family members.

At the end of this year Bittman will be halfway through his third three-year contract. He started his third contract in July 2023 and was scheduled to continue through June 2026.

One way or another, he was going to have to step away from his role as superintendent to take a family medical leave to care for his father and his father’s wife. Bittman told the Star News he recognized that he really needed to start using his time differently and support his dad and his wife.

“This decision has not been made lightly,” Bittman said in a statement issued on May 29. “It comes as a necessity to care for my parents, whose health has been in decline.

“As many of you know, the responsibilities of the superintendency require a level of dedication that extends beyond the traditional workday. It is a 24-hour-a-day commitment, and I feel December will be a good time for me (and the District) to shift my focus to my family.”

Bittman’s willingness to retire early will avoid a lapse in leadership once he goes on a leave.

School Board Chairwoman Holly Thompson and Vice Chairwoman Sara Weis sought legal counsel and had an agreement drawn up by an attorney to reflect Bittman’s contractual terms and his plans going forward. After the retirement agreement was drawn up by the school district’s attorney, a process played out to avoid any open meeting violations.

School Board members reviewed the contract and retirement agreement side by side last week in one-on-one meetings with the superintendent that happened with the board chair and vice chair first, followed by each individual board member. The board chair and vice chair then met with each board member individually and followed up individually later as well.

Nelson reads statement

School Board Director Joel Nelson read a statement at the meeting on Tuesday night, thanking Bittman as a leader and then as a friend.

“Dr. Bittman has been the best and only choice for superintendent of ISD 728,” Nelson said. “His leadership has created a culture and environment with multiple benefits. Some of those benefits include students who are educated in the best system in our state. Teachers who are equipped with the resources they need to be effective. An administration that is the most competent and qualified in the educational world, all because of his leadership.

“Dr. Bittman came to us when we both knew we needed each other. Our district needed a leader full of integrity and sound character. Dr. Bittman only chose one place to apply, ISD 728! We didn’t know when we hired him how much we needed him. Leading through a nationwide pandemic, Dr. Bittman was a leader amongst chaos. Not only did he navigate the craziness of a political nightmare, but he also navigated and led this entire community to succeed and provide the resources we needed for our taxpayers. Directing multiple agencies and nonprofits in our community to be as effective as we could be as a whole and not an arrangement of solo efforts. Dr. Bittman is the leader we didn’t even know we needed.”

Others on the School Board later echoed what Nelson said.

One of two critics of Bittman who joined the board in 2023 came with questions about what the board was approving on May 29.

Questions raised

School Board Director John Anderson asked Thompson why the board needed to sign a retirement agreement if the terms are already in the contract. He also expressed a concern that he didn’t have enough time to review the current contract and agreement.

Thompson reminded Anderson that board members did have an opportunity to review the document when he met individually with the superintendent last week and went through it line by line with the superintendent present.

“You were provided an additional time to review it when we met without the superintendent,” Thompson said. “You did have time to review the agreement ahead of time before today, and it’s not negotiated. It simply reflects his contract; the retirement agreement reflects his contract.”

Anderson said with a contract this large it’s important to able to study it for a while, and he just did not have time to do that. Thompson disagreed again, saying the process was open-ended.

“You had as much time as you needed to sit there and review the information,” she said.

“But I was not allowed to take the information home to review, and I’m not certain why that was the case,” he said.

Thompson said it was confidential at the point and hadn’t yet been posted on the agenda yet.

“Correct, but we’re the board,” Anderson said.

School Board members were able to receive copies of the agreement and the contract when they became public.

Anderson said he noticed that the retirement agreement date is effective Dec. 31, 2024, and it also speaks of leave and paid holidays that he would have been eligible to receive from January 2025 to June 30, 2026.

“So it sounds like all that’s gonna be accumulated and paid out through 2026,” he said.

Vice Chairwoman Weis said the terms of the contract match what has been paid out, owed or represented to him for the remainder of the term of his contract.

“By terminating the contract on Dec. 31, 2024, (that) will allow us to continue to move forward the process of having an acting superintendent in place,” she said.

Bittman told the Star News the only thing the retirement agreement does is allow the School Board to seek another superintendent, and it provides him the benefits that are required by federal law, state law in his contract.

Bittman also shared at the meeting with Anderson what he called the exact same information as when they went over the information line by line the week before, noting it says in the agreement the reason why the board has asked to enter into this agreement is because he let the board know he is taking a family medical leave — an extended leave to take care of a parent that he is the legal guardian for with declining health.

“And so the conversation that you and I had, as well as each board member, which is stated in the agreement, says, in lieu of that, the board recognizes that by taking an extended leave it will be difficult without a superintendent,” Bittman said. “So, again, that’s what we talked about. That’s what you talked about with Chair Thompson. That’s what’s in the agreement. There’s nothing new or different that we haven’t talked about with that.”

Anderson stated he still didn’t understand if it’s in the employment contract why the board and district would need a separate agreement.

“If it’s all in this, why do we need this,” he said, holding each agreement in his hand.

Nelson said: “I think it’s just courtesy that Dr. Bittman has given to us to let us know that this is his intention, and by us signing it, we agree to his intentions. There’s no change from his current contract and what he’s doing here. It’s just a courtesy to say, I am going to be done, if you want to start looking for a new superintendent, we can work through the process and hopefully find one by Jan. 1 that we can hire that will continue on with what we’re trying to do as a school district, and not leaving us without a superintendent or leadership for a period of time. That’s how I see it.”

Thompson said the alternative is that either way, Bittman would be taking family medical leave and he’d be filling out the duration of the contract and probably be working a minimum of one day a week.

To which Weis said it “would not be in the best interest of the district.”

Weis said the matter has been talked about thoughtfully in the wake of Bittman declaring his intent to retire, noting she and the chairwoman worked with a lawyer to draft an agreement to bring forward to support the best alternative of the district.

“Dan is not bringing an agreement forward,” she said. “He stated his intention or need to take care of his family to take a leave. A request was made by Chair Thompson — and I was brought in as vice chair in the process — to have lawyers draft the agreement (under Chair Thompson’s request) to bring forward the best alternative for the district.

Mindy Freiberg, also an outspoken critic of Bittman, asked for confirmation that an attorney or law firm was consulted about what was in the best interest of the district.

“Correct,” Weis said.

Nelson said it was nice that Bittman has given the board this time to prepare for this.

“It’s not like you’re not caring for your parent(s) for the next six months,” Nelson said. “You’re still doing that and fulfilling your obligations here.

“Thanks for that. It stands to your character and who you are.”

Nelson also thanked Bittman during the meeting as a friend and someone he learned so much from. He recalled how they were at a conference together when news of Nelson’s first-born grandchild came.

“We shared an evening of celebration and talked about what truly matters in life and family,” Nelson said. “Dan, you are someone I continue to learn from. Your demeanor and attitude when dealing with challenges is an inspiration to me. You face the hardest of situations daily, and yet continually choose to be a positive person with an attitude of service.”

Bittman became the District 728 superintendent in 2017.

In a May 29 statement, he said:

“I am deeply grateful for the experiences and opportunities I have had,” Bittman said. “Serving in just two school districts (over the past 15 years) has allowed me to form meaningful and lasting connections with colleagues, students, and the various communities. The support and collaboration I have received from all of you have been invaluable, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished together.”

Bittman said he is committed to working with the School Board to determine next steps.

“I look forward to seeing the District continue to thrive and succeed in the years to come,” he said. “Until then, we have a lot to do, and we will do it together!”