St. Helens HS principal, superintendent on leave, board chair resigns in wake of teacher sex abuse case

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- St. Helens High School's principal and the district's superintendent were placed on leave on Friday, following a bombshell sex abuse scandal resulting in the arrest of two teachers at the school earlier this week.

In the days after news broke about the alleged sexual assault at St. Helens High School, the community rallied against the school district leading to two days of protests.

On Friday, the school district announced in a Facebook post that the high school's principal Dr. Katy Wagner has been placed on administrative leave.

In the same post, they also announced that school board chair Ryan Scholl had resigned from his position.

Then at a virtual board meeting Friday night, Superintendent Scot Stockwell was officially placed on paid administrative leave.

The events were set into motion Tuesday after St. Helens police announced that current teacher Eric Stearns, 46, and former teacher Mark Collins, 64, were both accused of sexually abusing a total of nine students on the high school campus.

The accusations came after a two-month investigation, during which Stearns remained employed at the school. Both plead not guilty in court this week.

Students of Stearns told KOIN 6 News they were completely shocked by the allegations.

"I spent time outside of class with him because he was my favorite teacher," St. Helens senior Ray Downer recalled. "And I trusted him with a lot of vulnerable information about my personal life, things that I had gone through, and I went to him to feel safe, and now I feel like I have been tricked."

Hundreds of parents flocked to a board meeting Wednesday night seeking answers as to why they were never informed about the two-month-long investigation and what the school is doing to address the issues.

“I just want to know what’s being done. We seem to attract pedophiles in our school district,” one parent said. “What’s being done to prevent that and what’s being done to the staff that’s allowed that to happen?”

During the board meeting, Scholl told the heated crowd that Stearns was allowed to continue teaching because law enforcement had advised them not to place him on leave, which was later refuted by Chief Joseph Hogue with St. Helens police who checked the body cam footage when officers served the subpoena and said that “at no point did the officers tell the school district or advise the school district in any way to not put the teacher on admin leave.”

On Thursday and Friday, protesters gathered outside the high school and district offices, rallying against the school's response.

The Friday protest on South Columbia Highway even garnered honks and free food, while parents and teachers joined in, demanding answers as students called for change.

"It sickens me and honestly I would like to see some real change," voiced Ty Steinhauser, a former student of Stearns and Collins.

"Fire some people and drain the swamp, start over," said parent Marcella Schaffer. "I'm a teacher and I support these kids and what they're going through in our district. It's about time light was shown into this darkness."

St. Helens High School closed its doors early Thursday and will remain closed through Monday, according to the school district.

The district added that, in the absence of a board chair, the role falls to vice chair Trinity Monahan.

"Plans are being developed to continue school operations in a safe manner," the post continued. "These decisions were made thoughtfully and with a focus on transparency and accountability within our district. Our goal is to ensure a safe and positive learning environment, with clear steps toward addressing the concerns of our students, families, and community members."

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.