Jefferson County School District investigators say that former Columbine High School social studies teacher Leann Kearney was “grooming” a 17-year-old female student between 2018 and 2022. CBS reported last week that the district issued an apology to the parents of the student.
The investigation found that school counselors helped the student fill out a federal form to declare her as an “unaccompanied homeless youth” so that she could move in with Kearney. The student was not an unaccompanied homeless youth. This happened after the girl told the school that she felt unsafe at home.
The student’s mother found a note written in 2021 describing a kiss between the student and Kearney. It has not been reported who wrote the note. The mother also found 20,000 text messages and phone calls between the two on the student’s phone. The inappropriate relationship began as early as 2018, when the girl was a sophomore, according to the New York Post.
It has been reported that the mother sent a message to Kearney warning her to stop contacting her daughter at some point during their relationship. The mother showed the calls and texts to Principal Scott Christy, who reportedly said, “Ms. Kearney takes interest in helping kids navigate their sexuality.”
Kearney resigned from her teaching position at an unspecified date, after two years of pressure from the 17-year-old student’s mother and was deployed with the National Guard. The student temporarily moved in with another teacher after she turned 18. When Kearney came back from deployment, the student moved with her to Oregon.
CBS Colorado reported that an open records request uncovered that the girl’s counselor deliberately kept her parents “in the dark.” The emails reportedly show the counselor telling a “family liaison” to not inform the parents. Principal Christy also knew about the girl’s plans but neglected to inform her parents.
Jeffco Public Schools released a statement to CBS Colorado and said the principal fully cooperated with the investigation. The statement said that “obviously, the student did not meet the criteria to be considered homeless and the staff involved in this isolated incident were addressed as part of the investigation as the proper channels in place were not followed.”
The statement from the school district also stated that “while we have taken every step to remove this former employee from Jeffco and prevent her from working in another educational setting... we recognize this is of little comfort to the family.... we deeply regret how profoundly this violation has affected their family.”
Heather McCormick, a friend of the girl’s mother, said that the student’s mother wants more accountability for everyone involved. The district said it updated policies to prevent such an occurrence from happening in the future. The names of other staff members involved have not been released and there has been no mention by the school district of consequences for their actions by the school district.
Principal Christy has been receiving threats since the recent news report published about the incident by CBS on February 13. Christy said he first heard about the concerns at the end of the 2021–2022 school year while Kearney was deployed overseas. He said, “I notified my supervisor and the district’s then-Title IX coordinator. Ms. Kearney never returned to Jeffco after her military service and resigned in lieu of termination proceedings.”
The district reported Kearney to Colorado’s Department of Education and she lost her teaching license. It forwarded the details of the full investigation to the U.S. Military. The district also informed the California Department of Education under the belief that Kearney relocated there after leaving Colorado.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating threats that have been made against Principal Christy.
School district spokesperson Kimberly Mahugh defended Principal Christy and denounced the threats that have been made. “Jeffco strongly denounces any threats directed at district staff,” she said. “We stand behind Mr. Christy and the Columbine staff, and our Department of School Safety is working closely with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office to monitor the situation and provide support where needed to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Christy has worked for Columbine High School for more than 15 years.
