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ALPENA — A private investigator will make sure Alpena Public Schools officials properly handled two incidents involving a student at Ella White Elementary School that could lead to disciplinary action against an APS employee.

In a Tuesday news release, the APS Board of Education said it hired an independent investigator to evaluate APS’s response after administrators — clarified by an APS spokesman as “human relations and district leadership” — launched an investigation into the incidents.

The board did not specify which employee was impacted by the investigation, but Ella White Principal Tom Berriman has been on paid administrative leave since Nov. 16, after Berriman in early November controlled a disruptive student by picking the child up and carrying the child to an office.

Berriman previously told The News that district officials removed him from the school and told him they would recommend his termination to the board at Monday’s meeting. That action was later postponed.

The investigator hired by the board will ensure the administration’s investigation “complied with all applicable legal standards,” the release said.

The district cannot make public two videos of the alleged incidents — captured on school surveillance cameras, according to APS Director of Communications Lee Fitzpatrick — because it does not have consent from the parents of the student involved, according to the release.

The board will consider all evidence and provide the employee an opportunity to respond to allegations against him before making a decision about any district response to the incidents, it said.

The board did not share an expected timeline for the investigator’s report. Any action on employee matters taken by the board will be done in open session unless the employee requests a closed session, Fitzpatrick said.

On Monday, more than a dozen parents of Ella White students and other residents spoke at an APS Board of Education meeting on behalf of Berriman, asking that the board reinstate him and praising his handling of troubled students at the school.

At that meeting, board chairman Ned Heath said he could not comment on any potential administrative action against Berriman. APS Superintendent David Rabbideau previously said he would not comment on personnel issues.

The news release, in its entirety, reads:

“The Alpena Board of Education is aware that the administration has been investigating two incidents involving a student at Ella White Elementary School.

The Board has retained an independent investigator to ensure that the administration’s investigation into these incidents complied with all applicable legal standards.

After that investigation is completed, if the matter is brought to the Board, the Board will review all relevant evidence, provide the employee with an opportunity to respond to the allegations against him, and make a decision based on the totality of the information before the Board.

The Board is aware that two videos exist which show the incidents at issue in the investigation. The videos are confidential ‘education records’ under state and federal law. With only limited exception, the District cannot disclose the videos without consent from the student’s parent or legal guardian. To date, the District has not obtained consent to disclose the videos.

The Board’s primary goal is to maintain a safe school environment for all students and staff. The Board is committed to following due process, reviewing all relevant evidence, and making an informed decision based on a preponderance of the evidence presented.

The Board will not comment further on this matter and asks the community to allow for time so that the process may be followed in a fair and equitable manner. We thank the students, parents, staff, and members of the community for their dedication to the Alpena Public Schools.”