THIS MEMO HAS BEEN TRANSCRIBED BELOW. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN.
DATE: December 4, 1996
SUBJECT: Superintendent Letter of Eligibility (SLE) for Mr. Robert Dinnen
At approximately 12:30 this date, I was notified by Mr. Vance Edinger, Division Chief, Candidate Evaluation Services, that on November 27, 1996, Mr. Dinnen had been issued a Superintendent Letter of Eligibility in Error. The evaluator, in calculating his experience, had credited time that Mr. Dinnen served in Higher Education as experience towards the requirement for the SLE.
Mr. Edinger told me that this had come to his attention because he received a telephone call from an unidentified individual who wanted to know how we were able to issue the SLE when Mr. Dinnen did not have the required experience.
Based on the records available, it appears that Mr. Dinnen is currently serving as Superintendent of New Brighton Area School District.
I attempted to call Dan Myers, Ernie Helling or Pat Fullerton from the Office of Chief Counsel for advise on this matter. None were available. I left a message to ask that Pat Fullerton call me back on an urgent matter. As of 2:30 I still have not been able to talk to Pat.
At approximately 2:00 I was finally able to contact Mr. Dinnen. I informed him that he had been issued a SLE prematurely and that there needed to be a review of his experience. Mr. Dinnen told me that the Board (School Board) had appointed him as superintendent on Monday, December 2, 1996. Mr. Dinnen asked me if he should notify the Board and also the nature of the problem. I explained that we needed to take a look at his experience and what steps we needed to take from the Department concerning the premature issuance of the SLE. I also told him not to take any further action including contacting the Board until I contacted him. Mr. Dinnen asked if this would take three to four weeks. I told him no, that I hoped to resolve this matter within the next few days.
I also instructed Mr. Edinger to Contact Al Myers and ask him to not issue a Commission to Mr. Dinnen without first contacting this bureau.
Donald E. Lunday
NOTE: Vance Edinger was present in the office when I called Mr. Dinnen and witnessed(?) my part of the conversation.
continued. . .
