The St. Helens School District announced on Friday that 10 employees are on paid administrative leave, all somehow in relation to the ongoing sexual abuse scandal that has engulfed the small Columbia County community.
The district revealed the figures in a press release ahead of a planned virtual news conference, but officials remain silent on such key details as who is on leave and why.
St. Helens High School teachers Eric Stearns and Mark Collins were arrested Nov. 13 for allegedly abusing students at the school.
The outside of St. Helens High School on Nov. 15, 2024.
Joni Land / OPB
Two employees landed on paid leave prior to those arrests. Three more went on paid leave the day of the arrests. And according to new information, five more were put on leave as a result of findings from the Department of Human Services and an “internal report” conducted by the district.
It’s been publicly announced by the district that Superintendent Scot Stockwell, High School Principal Katy Wagner and Stearns have all been placed on leave. Collins had already retired from teaching.
The new information raises more questions than it answers. Virtually no details about the internal report have been made public. The district had announced it would conduct an internal investigation about the problem of sexual abuse at the high school. It’s unknown who the report investigated or what it found.
OPB reached out to district spokesperson Stacey Mendoza for clarification about the release, but she did not immediately respond.
District officials have announced that a final report will be made public sometime in the next 45 to 60 days.
