After teachers were arrested for sexual abuse, the Board decided to take action against St. St. Helens Superintendent puts Stockwell on leave

ST. HELENS, Or. St. Days after news broke about bombshell allegations that two St. Helens School District teachers sexually assaulted students, the school board voted unanimously Friday night to place Superintendent Scot Stockwell on administrative leave.

Also on Friday, the region, St. Helens High School announced that Principal Katy Wagner has been placed on administrative leave and Board President Ryan Scholl has resigned.

The district announced that it will be closed from Thursday to Monday. He said student and staff safety is a priority.

“I heard them say they were worried about their safety, and I think my daughter came to your school every day worried about her safety,” said Roschelle Russell, who said one of the accused teachers made inappropriate contact. with her daughter.

The board voted to put Stockwell on leave after parents accused him of not doing enough to protect their children.

Stockwell did not attend Friday’s approximately 16-minute virtual board meeting.

“The voices of students, parents, and community concerns were heard loud and clear at our last meeting,” Acting President Trinity Monahan said during the meeting. “Specific requests were made about what plans were made, who would be held responsible, and how specific details and decisions were to be understood.”

On Tuesday, St. Helens police officers, St. Helens High School arrested a current and former teacher on charges of sexual abuse of students. The charges follow a two-month investigation following allegations of sexual abuse at the school.

The current teacher has been identified as 46-year-old Eric Stearns. He teaches choir, according to the district’s website. Court documents show he was charged with seven counts of sexual abuse.

Former teacher Mark Collins, 64, is also accused of inappropriately touching minors at school. He was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing this week.

Students and parents gathered at The Village Inn, not far from the district offices, Friday night to watch the virtual school board meeting. Dozens of students were carrying banners outside.

“I’m glad everyone showed up and we’re making great progress. Avlene Moore, a St. Helens High School student government member and organizer of the strike and student protests, said, “The principal has been placed on administrative leave, but we’re just hoping they get fired instead of paid leave.” That’s ultimately our goal, to fire them and get them out of school.” “So we can start over and start new policies and new rules to keep students safe in our schools.”

St. Marchella Shaefer, a teacher at Lewis & Clark Elementary School in the St. Helens School District, said she has worked there for 28 years.

“I’ve known about this good old boys’ club for year one, and they’re protective, they hide a lot of things, and eventually this happens. I won’t lie, for a long time I was afraid to talk, but now I’m not afraid. “You know, we need to protect our children,” he said.

A day after the bomb allegations, hundreds of community members gathered around an explosive St. Attended St. Helens School District Board meeting.

Parents addressed the district, telling the board they had lost confidence in keeping their children safe.

“I think this is our first situation, maybe we can let the police do the investigation, but the school district doesn’t have the best record,” one community member said.

Parents were particularly upset that the school did not place Stearns on administrative leave when the investigation began.

One parent told the board: “You are willingly and knowingly putting my daughter at risk.”

The district claimed police told them Stearns should not be placed on leave. the police department denied this.

Earlier this year, St. Helens School District, St. He reached a $3.5 million settlement with a former student at St. Helens High School who sued him, claiming the district failed to protect him from a teacher who posed a sexual danger.