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After interviewing seven candidates for the position of interim high school principal, North Branch Area Public Schools offered the position to Coleman McDonough pending school board approval. McDonough, currently a principal for St. Paul Public Schools and a resident of North Branch, was the clear choice of a committee representatives from high school instructional and support staff, members of the school board, parents, and administration.

McDonough taught from 1994 to 2001, and served double duty as a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) and assistant principal at Arlington High School from 1996 to 2001. He was an assistant principal at Humboldt High School from 2001 to 2002, and an assistant principal at Harding High School from 2002 to 2007. He is currently the principal at Hazel Park Middle School Academy, in St. Paul.

The school board is expected to act on McDonough's hire at its May business meeting. McDonough will officially become interim principal at North Branch Area High School at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, July 1.

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