Records: Plagman agreed to write Haglin a job recommendation after first investigation into teacher-student affair

CEDAR RAPIDS - In the midst of his second investigation of a rumored sexual relationship between substitute teacher Mary Beth Haglin and a student, former Washington High Principal Ralph Plagman agreed to write the 24-year-old a letter of recommendation, records reviewed Tuesday show.

'I know you've already written one for me last year following my interview at Washington,” Haglin wrote in a May 12 email to Plagman, apparently referring to her stint as a student-teacher at the school. 'But, given all that has transpired since then, I think a fresh letter would be beneficial to me in my job search.”

Her request came three months after Plagman and then-Associate Principal Mike Johnson first investigated Haglin, wrongly determining in February that the rumors unfounded.

'Sure,” Plagman replied that night. 'Glad to.”

Their exchange is included in more than 900 pages of emails released by the Cedar Rapids school district Tuesday after The Gazette filed a public records request.

District officials Tuesday also closed a six-week-long, in-house investigation that aimed to answer questions about events related to Haglin, who was arrested in July on a charge of sexual exploitation.

In an interview with The Gazette after her release from jail on bail, Haglin admitted to a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student and said Washington administrators knew about the relationship and told her to keep it 'hush-hush.”

A district statement released Tuesday provided little new information, citing student and personnel confidentiality.

Although administrators had been trained in September 2015 on investigative procedures - which Superintendent Brad Buck mentioned at the Aug. 8 school board meeting - Plagman and Johnson did not follow those procedures during their first investigation in February.

That rendered the probe 'not an effective investigation,” the statement Tuesday said.

The Washington High administrators again failed to use the correct investigation techniques during their second investigation.

That investigation began in April, according to the statement, weeks before Plagman agreed to recommend Haglin for other teaching positions. Haglin has said rumors of her relationship had picked back up after a video of her and the student was posted online.

Plagman asked Haglin to leave her position at Washington on May 17.

The next morning, Plagman sent an email to several teachers asking them to help cover Haglin's classes for the rest of the school year.

'Mary Beth Haglin told (the chairman of the Language Arts Department) late yesterday that she would not be able to finish the year because of a personal matter involving a friend,” Plagman wrote. He later reiterated to teachers in the email that Haglin was leaving for personal reasons.

'Please tell the students exactly what I wrote in the first paragraph,” he told teachers. 'Miss Haglin has a personal matter to attend to that prevents her from finishing the year.”

Later that day, Plagman's secretary sent an email to the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, which manages the district's substitute teacher database, to remove Haglin from the assignment at Washington High.

Emails show there was no communication to remove Haglin from the system altogether until mid-June.

Ousted from Washington, Haglin applied to work as a substitute at Harrison Elementary. On May 24, the principal's secretary there wrote an email about Haglin's placement - with the subject line 'GREAT NEWS!” Portions of the email were redacted by the district before release to The Gazette.

'Mary Beth Haglin is here today for (redacted) - and the rest of the week,” she told a group of Harrison staff members. '(Redacted) asked her about next week - she is FREE! I will get her entered in for next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. YAYYYYYYYY!!!!”

Cedar Rapids police opened an investigation into Haglin six days later on May 30, and Buck reported Haglin to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners for an ethical violation in a letter received June 6.

After becoming aware of the police investigation, Haglin sat for a recorded interview with KWWL-TV on June 14.

Less than an hour after a KWWL reporter contacted the school district for comment, emails show Human Resources Director Jill Cirivello contacted the AEA to remove Haglin from the substitute database.

That evening, she sent an email to Harrison Principal Amy Russell and Jim Girdner, the principal at both Madison and Jackson elementary schools.

'There is going to be a story on the news tonight regarding a substitute teacher having an inappropriate relationship with a high school student,” Cirivello wrote. 'We released her from that sub position but when she was blocked from the high school, she didn't get blocked from the District. She subbed one day in your building Jim and 8 days in your building Amy at the end of this school year. Her name is Mary Beth Haglin.”

Cirivello, Johnson and Plagman all submitted their resignations to the school board this summer and all qualified for retirement benefits. The school district is paying them nearly $350,000 over the next four years, according to their separation agreements. Those funds are coming from the district's management fund, Buck said.

'The evidence during the investigation led the District to take appropriate personnel actions upon the review and advice of both general District legal counsel and appointed legal counsel,” Tuesday's statement reads. 'These personnel actions also respected the desire for continued confidentiality for the student and his family and the students and staff directly impacted by the investigation.”