VIRGINIA CITY, Mont. — Sharyl Allen promoted herself as the pro-parent choice in her bid to become Montana’s superintendent of Public Instruction, but her campaign was sidetracked by her day job as the principal and superintendent of the tiny Harrison School in Madison County.
A teacher at the school was accused of misconduct with students, and Allen clashed with law enforcement when officers attempted to interview students, going as far as blocking access to the school when officers were trying to enter.
While Allen has said she was trying to protect parental rights, presumably limiting officers’ interactions with students until parents were informed of the investigation, parents say she was just protecting her campaign for statewide office.
The saga that’s played out since April at the Harrison School offers a window into the difficulties faced by small school districts in rural states like Montana and Wyoming, which struggle to staff classrooms with quality teachers.
On Tuesday, Allen appeared in Madison County Justice Court and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer. Her sentencing hearing was set for Jan. 30, and could mark the end of the ordeal, which began in early April when a student at Harrison School first reported concerns about a recently hired male teacher.
The teacher has not been charged but was dismissed for making threats toward other school officials. He remains under investigation, according to the Montana Attorney General’s Office.
How It Started
Nikki Edmundson, a Harrison School parent and trustee on the Harrison School Board, said her son Cutler Edmundson grew concerned when the teacher allegedly made threats directed at school administrators, including the school board.
“And that's when, like, a dam broke and (Cutler) started telling me all the things that were going on and then from there, I reported everything to CPS (Child Protective Services) and the Madison County Sheriff's Department,” recalled Edmundson.
The Sheriff’s Department brought in the Montana Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and according to Edmundson, that’s when Allen, who served as both school principal and school district superintendent, Superintendent Allen blocked investigators from interviewing students.
On one occasion, Edmundson said, Allen locked out investigators when they tried to enter the school.
“They had to unscrew a window and climb into the window,” said Edmundson, adding that the teacher in question sent inappropriate texts to students, boasted about his martial arts skills and behaved in ways that warrant a thorough investigation.
When confronting investigators, Allen tried to block that investigation, invoked her relationship with Attorney General Austin Knudsen and his chief of staff, allegedly in an attempt to get Madison County law enforcement and the DCI to back down.
When Allen was charged with obstructing a peace officer, she defended her actions as sticking up for parental rights. In a press release issued by her campaign, she described her interference as a “bold stand” for these principles and “the values Montanans hold dear.”
The school district placed Allen on administrative leave, and she went on to lose her bid to become superintendent of public instruction in the primary. Allen eventually resigned from the Harrison School District.
After pleading no contest on Tuesday, Allen deferred all questions from the press to her attorney Daniel T. Jones, who appeared remotely from Conrad, Montana. Calls to Jones were not returned Tuesday.
Concern Of Political Cover?
Leading up to her loss in the June primary, Harrison School parents say, Allen was attempting damage control when she tried to explain away her obstruction of law enforcement as sticking up for parental rights.
“She was looking to protect herself, not necessarily protect the kids or protect the parents' rights,” said Heather Ohs, who brought her daughter Bria to the hearing at Madison County Justice Court.
Edmundson joined Ohs in the Virginia City courtroom Tuesday.
Recalling Principal-Superintendent Allen’s behavior back in April, Edmundson said, “She was segregating and dividing in a way to control narratives and to protect her campaign—lest we forget she was running for superintendent, and she wanted everything quiet. She would not speak to anyone.”
“I would love for the community to see this as we have a mutual enemy. We have two, we had the superintendent, and we had the school teacher that committed egregious crimes against our children,” added Ohs. “And when Ms. Allen refused to let (law enforcement) lawfully gain entrance to the school, that thwarted the legal process.”
“She was claiming that she was standing up for parental rights, which sadly people fell for,” said Edmundson. “But the difference is that, when a kid is being accused of a crime, that's when the parents' rights come into play. But when a kid is a victim, that's when the door should have been opened. And we should have said, ‘Let these kids be heard because they sometimes don't tell the parents. They're not going to come home and tell us what this teacher was doing.’”
Edmondson’s son Cutler now attends a nearby private school. He’s one of around 30 students who departed Harrison School in the aftermath of the unnamed teacher making threats and the obstruction charge filed against Allen. Harrison School typically enrolls fewer than 100 students K-12.
Chase Scheuer, press secretary for the Montana Attorney General’s Office, said now seven months later that “the Harrison School investigation continues with allegations of a staff member’s failure to register as a sex offender and a potential charge of sexual assault of a minor.”
The teacher under investigation is the same one who the school dismissed for making threats.
As a school trustee, Edmundson said she helped hire the former teacher now under investigation.
His lack of qualifications stood out, but Edmundson said “that's the world we live in right now. Where all these schools are desperate for teachers and we're willing to take a teacher working towards their degree. We made a bad judgment call, right? That's going to happen. A bad judgment call. We have to ask for forgiveness and gain the trust of our community again.”
Allen’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30. The maximum she faces for obstruction is a $500 fine and six months in jail.
