ST. HELENS, Ore. — Parents took the St. Helens school board to task Wednesday night, calling for all board members to resign. Their anger stemmed from the arrest of two St. Helens High School teachers — one current and the other retired —both of whom are accused of sexually abusing multiple students for several years.
"I am so angry about this!" yelled one parent. "Furious!"
Community members demanded action from the school board, accusing members of standing by for years as the teachers in question allegedly abused kids, and as they say, accusations made by students and parents were ignored.
"We had police reports, and I went to the principal and she brushed it off like it was nothing!" said the mother of one alleged victim. "When is she going to be held accountable for her role and turning her head the other way is what I want to know."
On Tuesday, police arrested Eric Stearns, a 46-year-old choir teacher at St. Helens High School. In court on Wednesday, Stearns pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually abused six different students between 2015 and January 2024. His arrest came after a two-month long investigation. Board members acknowledged that they knew Stearns had been under police investigation since September, but allowed him to keep teaching until his arrest, enraging parents.
"Do any of you have anything to say to the parents? To the victims?" one parent asked board members.
"We've made statements," said St. Helens School District Superintendent Scot Stockwell before attendees cut him off with a hailstorm of boos.
To many parents, Stockwell's words rang hollow.
"Our first and foremost commitment has always been the wellbeing and safety of our students," Stockwell said amid more yelling from parents and students. "The news has been devastating for all of us."
Former Oregon state senator Rachel Armitage also attended the meeting to call out board members.
"This is not OK. I want to know why this educator was allowed to cause harm to students for an additional eight years as well as apparently several others," Armitage said.
In addition to Stearns, police also arrested retired St. Helens High School teacher, Mark Collins. The charges Collins faces include two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree. He's set to appear in Columbia County Court on Thursday.
Parents at Wednesday's meeting said there have been and remain many other teachers over whom their kids have raised concerns, only to be rebuffed by school and district officials. They said it ends now, calling on school board members to resign.
"You need to step down!" demanded one mother. "You need to take accountability."
On Thursday, a crowd started to gather outside St. Helens High School around 8:30 a.m. to take part in a schoolwide protest.
