Editor’s note: Due to the employment at the same school district of another Ms. Hill the author has used the first name of a person frequently mentioned in this article.

School safety plans mostly allude to threats of explicit violence in schools, such as mass shootings and bomb threats. Schools have written ample policies and its employee unions are some of the most ardent opponents of the 2nd Amendment. However, a more likely danger to student safety is the presence of child predators in schools. Surprisingly, Oregon law and school policy can be unbelievable inept in protecting children. This is not only an issue for large urban districts, but small rural districts, such as Nestucca Valley School District in Tillamook County.

In April 2023, Jessica Starr obtained a stalking order against Special Education Teacher Chelsea Hill for grooming her 12-year-old daughter, Bridget. According to testimony by the student’s mother, Jessica Starr, Chelsea Hill sustained a relationship with her daughter Bridget through her employment at Nestucca Valley School District and through secret messages sent to Bridget’s phone under an alias. The copies of these messages show frequent offers of special food and treats; solicitation of information about the activities, locations, and future plans of Bridget, her family, and extended family members, and videos sent from Chelsea Hill to Bridget about narcissistic mothers.

Despite the evidence and the court order, Nestucca Valley School District not only retained Chelsea Hill as an employee in close proximity to Bridget, but also developed a plan that would not guarantee elements of the stalking order be enforced. While the school plan did attempt to keep Chelsea Hill from being “knowingly within 150 feet” and to have no contact “via electronic communications” from the girl, it still maintained that there would be possible visual contact. Under Oregon law stalking order requires the that the stalker not knowingly come into visual contact or be outside the school of the victim. The school’s failure to fully implement the stalking order forced, Bridget’s mother to pull her from Nestucca and be placed in a local private school.

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To be fair the matter is complicated, given that Jessica Starr is the fiancée of Jason Hill, Chelsea Hill’s ex-husband, of whom they share a son. This son, up until the time of the stalking order, had regular court ordered parenting time with Mr. Hill. He was sometimes with Bridget when messages were being exchanged, but they were on Bridget’s phone not the son’s. Since the stalking order, Chelsea Hill has refused to follow the parenting time agreement with Mr. Hill and has recently been redirected by a judge to follow the previous order. At the time of this publication Chelsea Hill has refused to submit a comment.

Furthering Nestucca’s entanglement with Chelsea Hill’s legal issues, at the September 1st hearing concerning maintaining the stalking order two school employees, including the Special Programs Director, were in attendance during normal working hours to aid Chelsea Hill in her defense. Chelsea Hill has refused counsel in her legal defense. The Special Programs Director refused to comment at the time of the publication of this article on her attendance or whether she was receiving pay from the school during this trial. Nestucca Superintendent Misty Wharton, did respond to these questions, stating, “the district does not provide comment about personnel.” The stalking order hearing will continue on October 13, 2023.

August 10th brought more disturbing news for Nestucca Valley School District: Former Nestucca school teacher and recent Nestucca Valley School District Board candidate, Russ Sanders, was charged and arrested for Sex Abuse -- Rape and a Fugitive for another state. The charge has been downgraded to Sex Abuse I -- Incest, and Russ Sanders has been released to the other state’s jurisdiction.

Russ Sanders told voters during the election that he had worked in the last school year with the Nestucca Valley Smart Reading program. The Smart Reading program is a state wide program that brings volunteers into the school to read and distribute books to students. The organization requires volunteers to be “culturally affirming” and submit to a background check. Under Oregon state law (Required Background Checks by Education Providers ORS 339.374 and Background Check Policy for Volunteers ORS 326 607) schools may utilize a state or national background check. In Russ Sanders' case, this is a concern because his out of state charges mean there is no documentation of his alleged criminal behavior in Oregon.

Russ Sanders was endorsed by both the Tillamook County Democrat Central Committee and TREAT, Tillamook Retired Educators and Teachers during his bid for the Nestucca Valley School Board and ran with current school board members Joseph Boyd, Diane Boisa, and Wally Nelson. He lost to Zachary Best by only 5 votes. Nestucca has not released a public statement about Russ Sanders’ arrest despite his previous work in the school district with vulnerable students, including nonverbal, disabled students.

What was the response when Nestucca school board was asked why they had not notified the public of this incident? Joseph Boyd, Vice Chair of the NVSD Board stated, “We are not responding to the charges against Mr. Sanders because they happened out of state.”

Their response to why they retained employment and did not notify the public of the stalking order for grooming a student attending Nestucca K8 (grade school) was, “We do not discuss employee issues.” This was as they gaveled out the speaker for asking these questions during public comment at the August 2023 school board meeting. The board had previously denied both Jessica Starr and Jason Hill their free speech rights during public comment at a May special school board meeting when they filed a complaint against Superintendent Wharton for her handling of the stalking order against Chelsea Hill. The Nestucca Board concluded that Superintendent Wharton “followed the law” and would not be referred for discipline. Amidst these controversies Nestucca Valley School Board is preparing to appoint a new school board member after the resignation of Board Chair Shane Stuart.

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However, Nestucca has both commented on former employees who have been charged with sex crimes outside the district and notified the public. Although the Facebook post has been removed, the arrest of former Nestucca teacher David Michael Brandon was publicly acknowledged by the district. David Michael Brandon was arrested for sodomy and supplying minors with marijuana in Clatsop county. David Michael Brandon has been convicted and served his 90 days in jail for this crime.

Nestucca Valley School District has since been asked what their policy was concerning retaining an employee or volunteer standing trial for allegedly harming a child and notifying parents of students of such an accusation? Their response was that they were following policy, but no specific policy was cited and the link sent was to the entire policy manual of the district.

Those who defend gender ideology being taught and promoted in our schools are sometimes labeled groomers. There is no doubt that there is amble opportunity to groom students in all kinds of ideology in the classroom: While it may be an unacceptable ideology or tactic it is a predictable outcome. However, one would hope all taxpayers would agree that actually grooming children for exploitation emotionally and physically should be totally unacceptable. Oregon law and schools must place the safety of children as its highest priority, and school shootings are less probable than abuse by an adult.

Since publication, Superintendent Wharton of Nestucca Valley School District has informed the public that the date of the trial mentioned in this article was not a “regular, work day.”


--April Bailey

Post Date: 2023-09-15 06:22:59

Last Update: 2023-10-19 07:20:37