St. Helens School District host first Q&A session amidst sexual abuse investigations

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- As part of their ongoing transparency efforts, St. Helens School District hosted its first Q&A session to discuss the continuing response to the sexual abuse allegations in the district.

During the meeting, Stacey Mendoza, director of communications for St. Helens School District, and Tom DeLapp with the Northwest Region Education Services District spoke about the status of the independent investigation, the acting principal, community engagement and more.

Dr. Charlotte Ellis was recently appointed as the acting principal at St. Helens High School where she is set to work on the hard task of restoring trust with the students and the community.

Meanwhile, the school's original principal Dr. Kathryn Wagner is facing charges for allegedly failing to report child sex abuse as the district continues an investigation into a sex abuse scandal involving a current and former teacher over the past several years.

As of right now, seven current and former district staff are under investigation by the Oregon Department of Human Services or St. Helens police in relation to the sexual abuse allegations or for failing to report.

During the Q&A, DeLapp shared the current state of the investigation and shared potential updates.

"We have not identified any additional perpetrators," said DeLapp. "We are getting uncorroborated, yet speculation that there are more victims, but we can't know for sure."

The scandal prompted numerous changes in the district, including the recent hiring of interim superintendent Dr. Steven Webb, who departed early from his last role in Vancouver Public Schools.

DeLapp clarified the vague circumstances around Webb's early departure after he was put on administrative leave in 2021.

"When you have an election change, new board members come in, they feel they have new mandates, new priorities, and they may decide that what they want is a change of direction in their leadership, not necessarily related to any conduct or behavior or cause or anything else," DeLapp said.

The findings from the current independent investigation are expected to be released within the next two months, officials said.