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MOORHEAD - A superintendent on paid leave at a small North Dakota school district caught in a firestorm of sexual misconduct allegations against male students has applied, along with teachers from the district, to establish a charter school in Moorhead.

Documents obtained by The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead through a public records request show that Tim Godfrey, the superintendent, and four teachers from Richland 44 ÍáÍáÂþ»­ District in Colfax, N.D., submitted an application April 23 to the Minnesota Department of Education to start Great Plains ÍáÍáÂþ»­ of Technology and Innovation.

After being contacted by The Forum, one of the teachers said the group is no longer pursuing plans for the charter school. Despite this, the Richland 44 ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Board president has indicated that the superintendent violated his contract by being involved. It's unclear what sort of consequences Godfrey could face as a result of such a violation.

The proposed charter school's application lists Godfrey as the chairman of the school's board of directors. He's been on paid administrative leave from Richland 44 ÍáÍáÂþ»­ District since March 1, and he's submitted his resignation, which becomes effective June 30. The district recently hired his replacement, who started Tuesday, May 1.

Richland 44 ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Board President Lisa Amundson was at first unaware of the charter school plans when contacted by The Forum.

"Although (Godfrey) is on leave, his contract requires that he receive permission from the Board for any outside professional activities while under contract," Amundson wrote in an email. "Mr. Godfrey has not requested, and the Board would be very unlikely to grant permission for him to use his time to develop a charter school while receiving a salary from the District."

Reached by phone, Godfrey declined to comment on the charter school plans.

'A surprise'

Richland 44 ÍáÍáÂþ»­ District grabbed national headlines in early April after an independent investigation by a law firm revealed a series of incidents, some described as a "rape game," that involved teenage boys in locker rooms and other school settings.

Parents' concerns about the misconduct surfaced in January, and a law enforcement investigation ensued. In February, five students were referred to juvenile court on charges of sexual assault, hazing, felonious restraint and terrorizing.

The independent investigation found that Godfrey and other administrators failed to sufficiently respond to misconduct allegations dating back to at least 2015, when Godfrey was first hired.

Moorhead Superintendent Brandon Lunak said he was surprised to receive a letter dated April 10 from Godfrey notifying him of the plan to establish a charter school. "I think anytime you get an application like that it naturally comes as a surprise," Lunak said.

Moorhead has no charter schools, and Lunak said he's "concerned there is a charter school that wants to establish residency inside our boundaries."

"Who knows, maybe with the events that could come out of this, the application doesn't get approved," he added.

Not 'the right time'

The charter school application lists four Richland 44 teachers on the proposed school's board of directors, along with Godfrey. This includes social studies teacher Ben Hannasch, math and science teacher Jackie Becker, fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Tiffany Carlson and music teacher Mark Aamold.

Hannasch said the group has wanted to start a charter school for some time, but "we don't think it's the right time." Phone messages left for the other teachers involved were not returned.

The application says the school was to be project-based learning for grades 6, 7 and 8, with an anticipated enrollment of 120 students. The proposed opening date was Sept. 4, 2019.

Hannasch said the teachers asked Godfrey to join their effort since Godfrey holds a Minnesota teaching license, which is a requirement to apply to establish a charter school.

In an email, Hannasch said Godfrey "fit the type of educator we were looking for for our school," and described Godfrey as an "innovative thinker" who makes educators better.

"He would have been a fantastic asset to our team, our school, and our students," Hannasch wrote.

The managing director of the proposed charter school is listed as Tom Tapper, of Innovative Quality ÍáÍáÂþ»­s, which has authorized 36 charter schools throughout Minnesota. Tapper did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

Hannasch said the charter school was "only in the planning stage and had not been approved by the state of Minnesota."

Josh Collins, a Department of Education spokesman, said the group's application has not been formally withdrawn. Until the group does so, the state will continue reviewing the application, Collins said.

The initial review decision will be completed by July 18, and a final approval or disapproval of the charter school will occur in September, he said.