Newly-Hired Washburn Principal Fired

According to a letter from Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson to parents, newly-hired Washburn High School principal Patrick Exner is out after facing accusations he had tampered with student standardized test answers at Ubah Medical Academy.

"I believe that Washburn High School needs a leader who will accelerate the positive momentum that has been building over the past few years," Johnson wrote in an email sent early Friday morning. "The issues surrounding Mr. Exner’s hiring have created an additional distraction that we cannot allow to continue."

For now, Assistant Principal Linda Conley will lead the school, with help from Assistant Principal Nilo Guanzon and retired district administrator Craig Vana. Vana was Washburn's interim principal after former principal Carol Markham-Cousins was reassigned last spring amid student protests. 

Johnson invited parents to a meeting at the Washburn auditorium on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. to learn more about the district's plans for the school.

Exner had initially been suspended on Tuesday when it and the state Department of Education (MDE) received an anonymous email alledging Exner had rewritten students' answers on the state's standardized GRAD tests. Students must pass the test before graduating high school.

Johnson defended the district's hiring process in the letter, saying the district conducted a "thorough hiring process for the Washburn principal position, including references calls."

"Nothing surfaced as a potential problem," she wrote.

Just hours after the Exner's suspension was revealed, the Star Tribune reported that Exner had been suspended from his previous job as assistant head of the Ubah Academy charter school shortly after the school notified MDE it was invalidating four sets of test scores because of the “testing environment was not secure." According to an MDE spokesperson, the school did not provide MDE with deeper details.

When Exner was initially hired,  Johnson praised gains in reading and math test score gains at Ubah, and credited Exner with making those gains.

"During his tenure, Mr. Exner increased math and reading proficiency and reduced student discipline reports. Enrollment at Ubah also increased 25 percent under Mr. Exner’s leadership," Johnson wrote in a letter to district staff announcing Exner's appointment.

Patch will continue to update this story throughout the day as more information becomes available.

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