by Patrick H. Moore
A funny thing has happened in the West Branch-Rose City school district in northeast Michigan where former teacher Neal Erickson has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison for sexually molesting a 14-year-old middle school male student with whom he’d developed a close relationship that crossed the line into illegal sexual conduct. You see, after Erickson was arrested, seven of his colleagues at the middle school where he taught wrote letters of support on his behalf to the sentencing judge in which they urged the judge to be lenient. According to his own admission, Erickson engaged in the sexual misconduct with the underage victim for a full three years from 2006 to 2009.
Many of the parents, of course, were already enraged by Erickson’s conduct, but when they got wind of the fact that some of his colleagues were supporting him and asking for leniency, and that the district was supporting their right to support Erickson, they went absolutely berserk. In fact, many of the parents are so steamed that they have actually taken the rather unusual step of withdrawing their students from the district and finding alternative ways of schooling them. This is not just an isolated case where a few parents have removed their children from the district; rather, district enrollment is unofficially down a full 87 students.
Now this is of course rather embarrassing to the school district but as officials of all ilks typically do, district personnel are playing CYA to the best of their ability.
“I can’t speculate as to why the students have left, but there were certainly parents who vocalized that they were pulling their children out of school because of the teacher’s support,” West Branch-Rose City School Superintendent Daniel Cwayna told FoxNews.com. “We addressed the issue as best we could without infringing upon the teacher’s first amendment rights. There’s only so much we can do.”
The state’s funding formula is based on the number of students present and accounted for on the date(s) when the official headcount is carried out. This means that if other parents make common cause with the parents who have already withdrawn their kids and simply opt to keep their children home on Sept. 25, the day of the headcount, the school district could lose as much as $600,000 in state funding.
“It’s absolutely appalling, these … teachers who wrote the letters. How someone can support a child molester … I don’t understand,” Sam Cottle, a local resident with relatives who work in the school district, said in an article published by EAGnews. “None of these people have written a letter of support for the mom, dad, or son. What does that tell you?”
Many community members have also called for the resignation of school board member Michael Eagan because he sat with the teachers and Erickson’s family during the disgraced teacher’s sentencing.
At a town hall meeting held in August to discuss the issue with the school board in an open forum, nearly 200 people showed up. Unsurprisingly, Eagan was the target of their scorn:
“You are tearing our community up. Do you realize that?” Carol Smith, whose daughter attends the high school asked of Eagan during the meeting.
Eagan has “stood his ground” and refused to resign, prompting opponents to mount a recall. He has stated that he has no regrets over having supported Erickson and would do so again.
“I would still support the family. That’s who I am,” he told the newspaper.
Erickson, 38, was originally investigated last October after allegations surfaced that he had sexually molested the boy beginning when he was 14. He was arrested in December of 2012 and pleaded guilty on May 8th. Erickson asked for a lenient sentence, citing “stress” and financial hardship for his family.
The defendant’s attorney has contended that the victim did not suffer severe psychological damage, but the boy’s family has countered by stating that the incident left him depressed and angry.
Here are a few examples of letters to the Court written by Erickson’s supporters:
“Neal made a mistake,” schoolteacher Sally Campbell wrote. “He allowed a mutual friendship to develop into much more. He realized his mistake and ended it years before someone anonymously sent something to the authorities which began this legal process.”
Another teacher, Amy Huber Eagan, wrote, “I am asking that Neal be given the absolute minimum sentence, considering all the circumstances surrounding this case. I am also hoping that he can stay remanded to custody in the Ogemaw County Jail and not be sent to a prison facility.”
Teacher Harriet Coe weighed in:
“Neal has plead (sic) guilty for his one criminal offense but he is not a predator. This was an isolated incident. He understands the severity of his action and is sincere in his desire to make amends.”
But on July 10, Judge Michael Baumgartner ignored the calls for mercy and handed down a sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison accompanied by some strong words for Erickson’s colleagues.
“I’m appalled and ashamed that the community could rally around, in this case, you. What you did was a jab in the eye with a sharp stick to every parent who trusts a teacher.”