St. Helens School District officials revealed Friday that a high school employee had been placed on administrative leave in connection with a sexual abuse case in September, nearly two months before two teachers were arrested for allegedly abusing students.
The new information shows the employee was placed on leave before choir teacher Eric Stearns was arrested in November.
The name was included in a list of 10 employees currently on leave for either allegations of sexual abuse or failure to report it to authorities, ranging from Sept. 20 to Dec. 6.
In this file photo, families and community members gathered at the St. Helens Senior Center on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, for an open forum to discuss holding school district leaders accountable and keeping children safe.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Nearly all are being investigated by outside agencies, including law enforcement, the Department of Human Services, or the Oregon Teaching Standards and Practices Commission. J. Marie, a communications consultant hired by the district, declined to specify which agency is investigating each person on leave.
Police arrested two St. Helens High School teachers in November for allegedly abusing students, and soon placed Superintendent Scot Stockwell and Principal Katy Wagner on leave. Wagner now faces multiple criminal charges for allegedly not forwarding years of reports of abuse to authorities.
The other employees on leave include four from St. Helens High School, one from Plymouth High School, one from St. Helens Middle School and one from McBride Elementary. Marie declined to state what each employee is accused of doing.
The district also revealed Friday that the president of the teacher’s union — who teaches at the high school — is among those placed on leave. Marie said she was not aware if the union had appointed an interim president.
The union did not immediately respond to requests for comment before press time.
