PORTLAND, Ind. — A St. Helens High School graduate never imagined a post about his experience with a former coach would lead to the arrests of a current and former teacher.
"I just had a lot of people sending me messages, sending me their experiences, things that are happening to them," said Doug Weaver, who graduated from St. Helens High School in 2007.
Weaver said a number of messages were about alleged misconduct committed by now-arrested choir teacher Eric Stearns. Weaver would forward the accusations to SafeOregon, a school safety tip line for community members to report threats in a confidential or anonymous way.
Then one day, Columbia County detectives contacted him. Stearns, 56, and former teacher Mark Collins, 64, were arrested last Tuesday as part of a two-month sex abuse investigation.
Police said the district was notified in mid-October of the investigation into Stearns over sex abuse allegations, yet he remained teaching until his arrest.
Weaver said he is not surprised that the district allowed Stearns to continue teaching during the investigation, a decision that prompted outrage from parents and students.
At a board meeting Wednesday night, parents called for all board members to resign, citing the arrests. The next day, St. Helens High School students held a widespread student-led protests on the campus, prompting the school to close Thursday and Friday.
"Sadly it didn't surprise me at all," Weaver said. "Sadly I had no expectation they [the district] would keep students safe."
Weaver told KGW that this is just the latest example of the school district failing to protect students from "predatory behavior."
In March, the district paid $3.5 million to settle a former students' civil right suit against a former St. Helens track coach. The lawsuit alleged the district was aware for over a decade of predatory behavior by a teacher and track coach but did nothing. The settlement amount marks the largest sex abuse settlement ever paid by a public school district in Oregon, according to the Oregonian. It is also the largest verdict rendered against a public school district in the state.
"There has always been those teachers there that feel predatory, that feel unsafe," Weaver said. "That you warn the incoming freshmen, stay away from these teachers, don't be alone with these teachers."
On Friday, St. Helens Superintendent Scot Stockwell was placed on paid administrative leave, along with St. Helens High School Principal Dr. Katy Wagner. The school board chair, Ryan Scholl, also resigned from his role.
"We've heard the concerns that have been raised and are committed to transparency and working toward fostering a safe, supportive environment for all students," the district said in a statement Friday morning.
The case is still being investigated, police said, but they wouldn't reveal if more victims had come forward in the wake of the announcement of the two arrests.
"For a long time I didn't think change in this district was a possible thing," Weaver said.