BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO KEYZ) – Noting a trend in “a lack of [ethical]” behavior, North Dakota’s Education Standards and Practices Board voted unanimously Thursday to suspend, with hefty conditions, the teaching license of former Williston High School teacher Lanny Gabbert.
The board ruled that Gabbert’s teaching license would be suspended until July 31, mandating that he complete courses in ethics, classroom management, and curriculum instruction and assessment. The ruling also stipulated that Gabbert would bear the expense of the required coursework.
Thursday’s ruling follows the board’s inquiries of Gabbert and the past three school districts for which he worked on the heels of a complaint lodged against him late last year. Over the course of one year, Gabbert had resigned from the Williston, Alexander and Ray school districts, all of which cited inappropriate behavior.
Although the motion for suspension passed unanimously, it did not come without significant discussion of Gabbert’s lack of accountability relative to the allegations leveled against him.
“In my mind, it hasn’t really affected him at all from jumping from one school district to the next school district, not worrying about where the money is coming from or his livelihood when his behavior hasn’t changed and the problems have kind of followed him,” said Sonya Hansana, school board representative from Hazen.
The board also discussed the possibility of revoking Gabbert’s license but agreed there wasn’t enough information to move in that direction, positing that a suspension might cause school districts to ask questions about his background before hiring.
“North Dakota is a small state, but there’s also room for a lot of movement. As an awareness piece for the administrators before they hire an individual, the ability to ask questions and to know who it is that you’re putting in your classrooms is important,” said Andrea Fox, teacher representative with West Fargo Public Schools.
