WOODBURN, Ore. — Some Woodburn school employees are outraged by recent actions from their school board chair, with numerous employees claiming that Noemi Legaspi, who is also a licensed therapist, is profiting from counseling services in schools. Legaspi denied the accusations Saturday, saying the accusations are "politically motivated."
Staff said Legaspi has been offering therapy services to students and families for months. Much of those in-school therapy sessions began after the school board approved a $6 million state grant for mental health services.
"That's a huge conflict of interest," Jessica Sampson, a special education teacher in Woodburn, said.
"It was jarring, to say the least," Rina Bicknell, a psychologist assistant in the Woodburn School District, added.
School staff said Legaspi’s actions violated ethics laws. Recently, another staff member filed an ethics complaint against Legaspi.
In the complaint, numerous examples are detailed of staff and administrators feeling uncomfortable by Legaspi working in schools as a therapist. One administrator detailed Legaspi promoting her services in at least two schools.
Some staff said she went over the head of counselors by contacting a principal in order to provide therapy service for students.
In another example, a staff member recounts in the report that Legaspi told them to send referrals directly to her.
That is prohibited in Woodburn Schools, staff said. Instead, there are in-school steps that are taken to help students with mental health problems before a third-party therapist is contracted.
There are two other third-party therapist providers contracted by the district, in addition to Legaspi. It is unclear if they received the same opportunities that Legaspi had, like meeting parents at school events.
Tony Salm, the president of the Woodburn teachers' union and a fifth-grade teacher, said he had a student pulled out of his class by Legaspi during state testing.
“We are trained and taught that that never should happen," Salm said.
A student had never been pulled from Salm’s class during testing for a therapy session in his 20 years of teaching, Salm said.
Other educators also recounted odd experiences in the ethics report. In an email, one counselor said Legaspi asked her to refer a student to her services. The counselor recounted to administrators that she felt uncomfortable referring a student who she didn’t believe needed mental health services.
In response, Legaspi, in an email to KGW, replied, "The ethics commission has thoroughly reviewed the complaint and has dismissed it, finding no ethical breaches on my part. I am committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in my role as a school board member.
"It is unfortunate that this complaint appears to be politically motivated. Some individuals do not want me to run for re-election because of differing opinions on key issues. Despite these challenges, I remain dedicated to serving our community and improving our school district."
In the ethics commission's preliminary review, Legaspi also stated she “recognized the opportunity to contribute positively to the well-being of students.”
KGW reached out the school district for an interview, which was declined.
Still, school staff disagreed with Legaspi’s stance.
"I'm honestly pretty angry about it myself," Bicknell said.
"This person due to her position is being given access that other private counseling services wouldn't have," Salm added.
The preliminary review said that an investigation into Legaspi's actions should be pursued by the ethics commission to determine if she violated state ethics laws.