MARYSVILLE – The Marysville-Pilchuck High School band director will return to class Monday after receiving a reprimand for disobeying the administration by organizing a fundraiser.
John Rants has been on paid administrative leave since Feb. 2. Investigators found that he didn’t follow proper channels and procedures in promoting a fundraiser for a band trip that was later canceled.
His prolonged absence has led to trying times for band students who are waiting for first semester letter grades and parents looking for refunds for a trip canceled after Rants was placed on leave.
“You want to be fair to the teacher and to the students. Investigations seem to take longer than we would like but we want to do them right,” Superintendent Larry Nyland said. “I am disappointed that students did not have the opportunities promised this year.”
In a letter sent Wednesday to band students and parents, Principal Tracy Suchan Toothaker said the school regrets the disruption the investigation had on the band program.
“I do realize the past months have been trying on everyone concerned,” she said.
The district hired a Seattle lawyer to investigate concerns that had been raised about the band program.
The investigation found that Rants disregarded orders from an assistant principal when he helped organize a fundraiser with the Marysville Junior High School band to pay for transportation to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho.
The assistant principal froze Rant’s calendar last October, meaning he could not add more events.
Rants “essentially ran the preparations for the fundraiser,” even after the junior high band had pulled out of the festival, according to a copy of the 14-page report obtained through state open records laws.
Rants also distributed tickets for his students to sell without ensuring that the necessary accounts had been set up, the report said.
“This resulted in students being unable to immediately deposit funds as required, and may have led to the loss of some funds,” the report said.
Rants could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
However, Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association, said she met with Rants on Tuesday and he told her he’s eager to return.
“John’s comment is that he is glad that the matter is resolved and he is excited to return to work and to be with his students,” Watson said.
When Rants was placed on leave, the district canceled a dinner dance fundraiser, the trip to the jazz festival in Idaho and a March trip to a weeklong music festival in Florida, among other activities.
In her letter, Suchan Toothaker said Rants will address first semester grades next week.
“As he returns to the classroom, clarification and completion of grading for the first semester will be a priority,” she said.
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