ANTIGO, Wis. – Apparently being involved in a “drug ring investigation” is not enough to lose your job in a government school.

That’s certainly the case with Dan Witman, an Antigo, Wisconsin teacher who was suspended for one year last week by the district school board, but will be welcomed back when his penalty has been served.

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Witman, an elementary physical education teacher and coach, was one of several targets in a local police investigation earlier this year regarding a drug distribution ring. The investigation focused on nearly a dozen people, including eight current or former educators from the Antigo and Merrill school districts.

Witman was never charged with a crime, but was investigated by the school district. He will be suspended for a year without pay, prohibited from coaching during that period and subject to random drug tests.

If the punishment fits the crime, his crime must have been pretty serious. But apparently not serious enough to warrant his termination.

District officials offered little explanation for their handling of the Witman situation. A statement from the school said “Witman was not engaged in the habitual use of drugs.” It did not specify a specific reason for the suspension, and school officials declined to comment further on the matter.

Isn’t that a relief, parents?  He wasn’t a habitual user, even though his actions somehow warranted a one-year suspension. Any information beyond that is apparently none of your business.

All of this is a very big disappointment. Act 10 gives Wisconsin school boards the power to send problematic teachers packing without enduring a lengthy or expensive process. But the Antigo school board is clearly passing up the chance to use that power, and members won’t explain their reasoning to the people who pay the bills.

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The citizens and students of Antigo deserve far better than this.