Ten teachers, school district officials put on leave over sexual abuse allegations in St. Helens in Oregon

Ten teachers and district officials were revealed to be on paid administrative leave in the St. Helens School District, that serves parts of Northern Oregon following accusations of sexual abuse and failure to report.

After students, parents, and community members demanded transparency in the wake of the allegations from the schools, the district released the list and a spokesperson said nine of the 10 are under pending investigation by outside entities and “are on leave in association with the current issues facing the district,” but would not confirm if the individuals are part of the ongoing accusations of sexual abuse and failure to report.

In November, former teacher Mark Collins and current teacher Eric Stearns were arrested on sex abuse charges. The allegations were followed by state-led investigations into several teachers and administrative officials, including Principal Katy Wagner, who is accused of failing to report the allegations for years.

According to KOIN 6 News, the list revealed by St. Helens School District on Friday does not include Collins but lists ten current staff members, their positions, the schools they teach at, and when they went on leave. The names (and leave date) include St Helens High School Choir Teacher Eric Stearns (11/13), Principal Katy Wagner (11/14), Social Studies Teacher and president of the St. Helens Education Association Union Keith Meeuwsen (11/18), Campus Monitor Carla Pletsch (11/22), Campus Monitor Dezmond Stoudamire (9/20) and Math teacher Jeremy Wayne (11/4).

The list also included school district superintendent Scot Stockwell (11/15), St. Helens Middle School Teacher Stacey (Scott) Pieper (11/21), Plymouth High School teacher Adam Wies (12/6), and McBride Elementary School SPED IA Dawn Robillard (11/21).

Stearns and Collins have pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse charges. Wagner has pleaded not guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment, first-degree official misconduct, and second-degree official misconduct. She was accused of failing to report complaints against the two teachers as required by law.

The district didn’t specify what led to each staff member being placed on leave, but Stockwell was also placed on leave allegedly for neglect due to failure to report child safety concerns. According to The Oregonian, the district has had to pay almost $200,000 to hire staff to fill the vacancies.

Making matters worse, the district had to find a new point of contact for communications after Thomas DeLapp withdrew when a community member told the district that DeLapp had been convicted of embezzlement after being accused of stealing $52,000 from California’s Rocklin Educational Excellence Foundation, where he was a founding chairman.