Francis Haney

Herbert Francis Haney (aka Mr. Haney) is the principal of Lakewood Elementary. He oversees everything happening in the school, whether it be school events, bad behavior from pupils, school renovations, etc. Besides being the principal, he is very active in the community of Elwood City, and often takes part in managing or competing in public events, especially if they are sponsored by the school.

Mr. Haney is known to have had bad luck for no apparent reason, often getting hit by things that land on his head or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everybody responds by saying, "Sorry, Sir". His luck has improved in later seasons, though. He also has a neice and nephew who appear in the episode Return of the King who are tutored by Mr. Ratburn's Former 3rd Grade teacher, Mr. Pryce-Jones. He is also a tax costumer of one of his pupils, Arthur Read's, mother, as revealed in the episode Arthur's Mystery Envelope where he gave Arthur an envelope filled with tax documents to which Arthur at first thought it was filled with information regarding him but he later found out it was not.

In the first few seasons of the show, there was a running gag with Mr. Haney. He'd randomly appear as a toy or a balloon, or something bad would happen to him, such as burgers hitting him on the face or being knocked off of his bed by the Tooth Fairy.

Appearance
Mr. Haney is a bear with a light grey fur. He is often seen wearing a light blue jacket suit over a white shirt and a orange and blue striped tie. He also wears a dark blue pants with brown loafers and glasses. He is also one of the few characters in the series depicted with fur, as opposed to a complexion like most of the characters who have human-like skin tones.

Personality
Mr. Haney is a kind character who cares deeply about the well-being of his students, but will deal a stern stance if they do anything to disrupt the day for their class or their teachers. He also can be a bit clueless, having been talked out of giving a punishment by students like Binky Barnes, though this happens only on rare occasions. He suffers from dyslexia.

Trivia

 * Mr. Haney is only ever referred to as "Sir" by his students in Arthur vs. The Piano when the students apologize for inexplicably dropping something on his head and it sounds almost as if they address him as a stranger even though he is their principal.
 * It is revealed in the episode "Arthur's Numbers Nightmare" that Mr. Haney's middle name is Francis.
 * In the early Arthur books before the cartoon, Mr. Haney was known simply as the principal, and he wasn't given a name until the cartoon.
 * In the episode "The Boy with His Head in the Clouds", he is revealed to have dyslexia.
 * Later in the series, in the episode Arthur's Number Nightmare, he is called "Francis."
 * As revealed in the episode D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy, Mr. Haney is single.