East Helena schools remove teacher and expel student after assault

East Helena, Mont. — East Helena Public Schools removed a teacher and expelled a student after an assault case sparked months of tension and a packed school board meeting in the community.

At a Wednesday meeting in East Helena, parents and educators argued over how the district should respond after administrators said a junior at East Helena High School admitted to assaulting a teacher at East Valley Middle School.

One parent pressed district leaders for answers about the teacher’s future.

"You can pick on this kid all day. What he did is not right and I don't approve of that at all. But also I want to know what's going to be done with this teacher?" an angry East Helena parent said.

Superintendent Dan Rispens said the case raised serious concerns for the district.

"The fact that you got a student on your campus in his way of thinking and belief system thinks it’s alright to first of all take things into his own hands. Second of all assault another person. Third of all a person of authority, a teacher in the building. That’s a pretty concerning situation," Rispens said.

The student’s family said they believed there was more to what happened and accused the teacher of misconduct.

Some people in East Helena repeated those concerns and circulated a petition to remove East Helena Public Schools teacher Erik Pritchard.

"My niece has graduated from this school and back when she was a freshmen this was brought up. And it wasn't taken care of," East Helena resident Sherry Northcott said.

Rispens confirmed the district had received formal complaints about Pritchard before. He said other issues and allegations were raised on social media rather than being reported to administrators and law enforcement.

He also said the district opened a Title IX investigation into the claims involving Pritchard, but the allegations were not verified.

"There’s a lot of unrest in the community on this issue and topic. And we understand the high emotional intensity and their complaints and allegations they brought forth. But in the end the board had to take action and had to protect the interest of the district," Rispens said. "The district felt that this was the best possible outcome for this situation," he said.

The board approved a separation agreement with Pritchard that included his voluntary resignation and a payout of his contract.

The student was expelled from East Helena schools for 13 months.