St. Helens superintendent outlines corrective-action plan and updates on misconduct reporting policies

Superintendent Dr. Gray told the St. Helens School District 502 Board of Directors on the evening of the meeting that she will lead a corrective-action plan focused on training, investigations and improved reporting practices after recent personnel and student-safety concerns.

The plan, Dr. Gray said, lays out measurable tasks, responsible staff and timelines and will include recurring training on mandatory reporting, investigative practice and boundaries between staff and students. She described daily reporting work and stressed the district’s legal limits on naming people involved in personnel or child-welfare reports.

Dr. Gray said the district is using the Oregon School Boards Association policy updates and changes tied to House Bill 4160 (2024) to revise local rules for reporting suspected misconduct. She told the board the district will post reporting forms and has two administrative routes for handling allegations: the human-resources director now and an assistant superintendent of teaching and learning when that position is filled. The assistant superintendent position, she said, is intended to oversee k–12 teaching and learning and to take the lead on reported allegations…