FARGO — A West Fargo high school administrator who reportedly was drinking before crashing his vehicle into a tree and leaving the scene has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence .
Sheyenne High School Assistant Principal Nathan Robert Schleicher, 35, was sentenced Friday, March 19, in Cass County District Court to 360 days of probation. In exchange for pleading guilty to the DUI misdemeanor charge, two other misdemeanor counts — refusing to submit to a chemical test and duty upon striking a highway fixture or other property — were dismissed.
Court documents did not detail the early morning Feb. 27 crash, but a report from the West Fargo Public Schools District laid out what Schleicher told officials. According to the documents:
Schleicher went to the Pour House in Fargo around 8 p.m. on Feb. 26 and left the bar around midnight after drinking alcoholic beverages. He told officials he glanced at his phone while driving, swerved off the road and crashed into a tree near his home.
He then walked a block and a half to his home to seek assistance for his injuries. Law enforcement arrived at his home to investigate the crash, according to the documents. Fargo Police issued the citations at 12:53 a.m. Saturday at 32nd Street South and 37 1/2 Avenue Southwest, court documents said.
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The district redacted information about his injuries, and the report didn’t say how much he drank.
Schleicher, who has been an assistant principal in West Fargo since 2017, apologized in a letter to the Sheyenne community.
“While I do not have the ability to go back and change my actions that evening, I do have the ability to learn and grow from the experience — a process which began that very day and will continue into the foreseeable future,” he wrote in the letter. “Looking ahead, I promise that I will work every day to restore any trust I have lost, repair any harm I have caused, and to help young people in our school and community to thrive.”
West Fargo Schools allowed Schleicher to return to his post following the crash.
“Decisions regarding any potential action will be made once an outcome is determined in his case,” the district said in a statement. “Accountability can best be achieved through intentional restorative practices versus outright dismissal.”
It wasn't immediately clear whether Schleicher would maintain his position at Sheyenne. A West Fargo Schools spokeswoman said the district did not have school Friday, so she would not have an answer on Schleicher's employment status until next week.
Schleicher’s attorney, Mark Friese, didn’t return a message left by The Forum seeking comment for this story.
