Russ Bartlett (Photo provided)

TUPPER LAKE — Before heading out for spring break last week, the Board of Education here announced it would remove the interim tag from Russ Bartlett’s title, making him the new full-time, permanent principal of Tupper Lake Middle/High School.

An 11-member committee comprised of administrators, teachers and parents from the Tupper Lake Central School District arrived at the decision. Superintendent Seth McGowan said they considered a substantial number of applicants, both from inside and outside the North Country.

“As often happens when you get an application from somewhere far away, people don’t really know what they’re applying for,” McGowan said. “We’re literally at the crossroads of the Adirondacks, and a lot of people don’t quite know what that means.” A few of these distant applicants even canceled interviews after the selection committee had scheduled them.

McGowan is confident, however, that they found the right person for the job.

“The parents love him; the kids love him; the teachers love him,” he said. “It’s really a perfect solution.”

Music teacher Liz Cordes agreed.

“I was very pleased to hear that Mr. Bartlett was appointed as principal,” she said. “He has done a great job this year, and I look forward to working with him in the future.”

Bartlett’s roots in the area — he grew up just north of Tupper Lake and owns a home in town — are big reasons both McGowan and the selection committee are happy with the pick. In the lead-up to the selection, McGowan had talked about the need to have a principal who is a member of the community.

Prior to serving as interim principal, Bartlett, 48, had taught in the Tupper Lake district for 17 years. He taught science for 10 years and spent the last seven years, before becoming interim principal, as athletic director and student coordinator.

“Russ has the brainpower,” McGowan said. “He’s smart, thoughtful and offers us stability.”

Bartlett could not immediately be reached for this report, but in a March interview, he told the Enterprise, “I’d stay until they wheel me out.

“The time I’ve been here has been outstanding, and I’d love to continue it.”

This is his first permanent principal position, and McGowan, for one, hopes he chooses to stay.

“I don’t want to call it a revolving door,” he said, “but we’ve had a lot of principals in that position ever since Jim Ellis left.”

Ellis was principal from 1977 to 1996. In what could turn out to be a fitting end to the revolution of Tupper Lake’s principal door, it was he who first recruited Bartlett to the district.

“He’s such a great guy,” Ellis said of Bartlett Tuesday. “He’s one of the last people I hired during my tenure as principal to come and teach.”

Ellis said he thinks Bartlett is “firm but fair,” and well rounded.

“As you can tell from his experience as athletic director and coach, he really is involved with everything the kids do,” Ellis said. “He’s not just an academic.”

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Managing Editor Peter Crowley contributed to this report.