Rose City middle school torn apart by teacher sex scandal Case involving relationship with student rocks small Mich. town having sex with an eighth-grade student

Rose City middle school torn apart by teacher sex scandal Case involving relationship with student rocks small Mich. town Michelle Morgan of Lupton expresses her anger toward the school board for not firing supporters in the school system of Neal Erickson in Rose City. Michelle Morgan of Lupton expresses her anger toward the school board for not firing supporters in the school system of Neal Erickson in Rose City. (John M. Galloway/Detroit News) Rose City— This tiny farm town in northern Michigan has risen up against a school board member and six teachers. Longtime friends no longer talk to them. They’ve been blasted by a judge, criticized by the local newspaper and mocked in public meetings. Residents are trying to recall board member Mike Eagan, and the board is contemplating firing the teachers. Their offense: supporting a friend convicted of having sex with an eighth-grade student. When middle school teacher Neal Erickson was sentenced last month, Eagan sat in court with Erickson’s family. The six teachers wrote letters of support to the judge. The case has split the close-knit community, threatened the future of the school district and forced residents to re-examine long-held beliefs. “This case has taken on a life of its own,” said Mike Juarez, a West Branch attorney who represented Erickson. Residents say they will pull their children from the West Branch-Rose City Area School District if the teachers aren’t fired. But the board isn’t sure the letter-writing is grounds for dismissal. Either option — losing students or fighting a legal battle — would financially cripple the cash-strapped school district, board president Jack Money said. The board is expected to make a decision at its meeting Aug. 19. “Don’t underestimate how huge a decision this is,” Money said during a special board meeting Monday to address the controversy. “If we make a decision and it blows up in our face, I’d hate to see this community without a school district.” Some residents in the town of 650 about 70 miles north of Saginaw wonder whether the outsized reaction by the conservative community is fueled by the fact the student Erickson had sex with is male. That is, if it had been a heterosexual encounter, would the response have been as severe? Brandon Larkin, who graduated from Ogemaw Heights High School in 2001, said past relationships between teachers and students never drew this type of response. “But this was a homosexual relationship, so that’s worse, right?” he said. “If that’s not slanted justice bordering on bigotry, I’m not sure what is.” The highly charged atmosphere grew more fraught last month when someone burned down the garage of the student’s parents, John and Lori Janczewski. The irate couple has led the charge to remove the school board member and six teachers from their positions. No one has been arrested for the fire. “This is no longer about our son. It’s about all our children,” Lori Janczewski said. “It’s embarrassing to us, embarrassing to the community, embarrassing to our children.” School 'adored' Erickson The issue has roiled a small town where everyone knows everyone else. The assistant prosecutor in the criminal case sits on the school board. Lori Janczewski is a teacher aide who had worked beside Erickson for 10 years. It’s like a nasty family fight that has spilled out of the home. “This is getting out of hand,” said Ellen Scott, whose two grandchildren are students. “They are just out for blood. To me, this is a mob of haters looking for vengeance.” The controversy began with a 7-year-old photo. The obscene picture of Janczewskis’ son when he was 14, was anonymously emailed to the school board and superintendent. The Michigan State Police contacted the son, now 21 and a student at Western Michigan University, and learned he had sent the photo to his eighth-grade teacher in 2006. The son said he and the teacher, Erickson, had a relationship that summer that involved eight to 10 sexual encounters at the teacher’s home. Erickson, 38, who taught science and computers to seventh and eighth graders at Rose City Middle School, pleaded guilty to a single count of criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. Before the sentencing, six teachers and two retired ones wrote letters to the judge asking for leniency. None of the teachers condoned what Erickson did. Instead, their letters focused on his 17 years of teaching, describing his popularity with students and teachers, how hard he worked and how often he volunteered for school functions. Amy Eagan, who teaches history and psychology at Ogemaw Heights High School, wrote that no one has done more than Erickson for children, the middle school or the community. She is married to Mike Eagan, the board member. “You would have a hard time finding a student who attended the Rose City schools that does not adore and respect Neal,” she wrote. Eagen considers resigning During the sentencing, Circuit Judge Michael Baumgartner said he was appalled by the support for Erickson. “What you did was a jab in the eye with a sharp stick to every parent who trusts a teacher,” he told the defendant. The teachers declined to discuss their letters and the resulting furor. One of them, Sally Campbell, who recently retired from the middle school, wrote on the local newspaper’s website the teachers felt bad for Erickson and the Janczewskis. She said the teachers wrote letters and sat with Erickson’s family in court to show support for the relatives. “What crime did they commit?” she wrote about Erickson’s family. “We were there to give anguished, devastated people our support.” Mike Eagan didn’t write a letter but sat with Erickson’s relatives in court. He told The Detroit News he was just showing his support for Erickson’s family. Despite the backlash, he said he wouldn’t change his actions if he had the chance. “I would still support the family. That’s who I am,” he said. Asked if he would resign, Eagan paused before saying he isn’t ruling it out. The mounting pressure for Eagan to resign crystallized during a special board meeting Monday night. Inside the high school auditorium, the crowd of 180 hooted and hollered at Eagan. One person mimicked him with a baby voice. Another sounded an air horn several times. Of the 48 audience members who spoke during the five-hour meeting, all but a few were against Eagan. Several talked to him about stepping down. “You are tearing our community up. Do you realize that?” asked Carol Smith, whose daughter attends the high school. At one point, the meeting was interrupted by John Janczewski, who was sitting in the front row. “My son was molested,” he yelled at Eagan. “Wipe that smirk off your face.” From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130803/METRO06/308020127#ixzz2bDXdHtCn