EAST HELENA — It has been two months since a student assaulted a teacher at East Helena High School. This week, the East Helena School Board is considering the future of both the student and the teacher with the school district.
On Wednesday, the board voted 7 to 0 to expel the student for 13 months. The student's family identified him as Colton Galliher, a junior.
According to Colton’s grandfather, Greg Martin, Colton punched teacher Erik Pritchard after hearing an allegation involving Pritchard and Colton’s sister
“Well, supposedly someone told my grandson that Pritchard was looking at my granddaughter inappropriately, but there's no proof. Colton took it to heart,” said Martin. “You know what if that really happened? You have no proof it did. But they have no proof it didn't.”
A Title IX investigation was conducted into the allegation, but the findings did not support the allegation against Pritchard. East Helena Schools also previously told MTN that their investigation did not support the claim.
A video showing the assault was widely spread across social media. Martin told MTN that Colton pleaded guilty to the assault.
Pritchard is a teacher at East Valley Middle School and a driver's education instructor.
Numerous former students have made allegations of what they characterized as inappropriate behavior from Pritchard.
Pritchard said the comments made by former students to the MTN were “highly defamatory” and “were unverified and not properly fact-checked.”
In March of 2024, a Title IX investigation into a student complaint found Pritchard violated sexual harassment as defined by Title IX as “unwelcome conduct as determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person’s equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.”
This is not the same as a criminal conviction.
School leadership told MTN that it is rare for the school board to be involved in student discipline.
“I’ve been superintendent for five years, I believe this is the third student that’s come in front of the board in five years, and I’ve been an administrator out here for 25 years, and I think there’s probably less than six or seven instances where we had discipline that came in front of the board during that period of time,” said East Helena Schools Superintendent Dan Rispens
Rispens said the board usually only gets involved when a situation not only violates a student handbook policy, but it also violates a board policy and state or federal law.
Additionally, neither the principals nor the superintendent can expel a student. Only the school board has the power to do that.
On Thursday, the East Helena School Board is scheduled to consider a separation agreement with Pritchard.
We will update you as we get more information.
