They call it "passing the trash," and it's a common practice that lets child abusers resign and move to another district
It would take months for the agency that licenses Oregon teachers to discipline a Salem-area teacher for inappropriately touching at least eight girls.
To get Kenneth John Cushing, then 44, away from Claggett Creek Middle School students immediately, administrators cut him a deal: If Cushing resigned, they would conceal his alleged conduct -- clutching students' waists, touching their buttocks and massaging their shoulders -- from the public.
Cushing signed the pact -- obtained by The Oregonian through public records requests -- with Salem-Keizer Public Schools in 2004, and officials promised not to reveal the teacher's behavior if potential employers called looking for a reference. They would attribute his departure to "personal reasons," the document reads, and make "no reference to this agreement."
Salem's deal is just one of 47 similar confidential settlement agreements obtained or confirmed by the newspaper.
During the past five years, nearly half of Oregon teachers disciplined for sexual misconduct with a child left their school districts with confidential agreements. Most, like Cushing's, promised to keep alleged abuse quiet. Some promised cash settlements, health insurance and letters of recommendation as incentives for a resignation.
The practice is so widespread, school officials across the country call it "passing the trash."
The Oregonian reviewed 767 cases of educator misconduct over the past 10 years in which the state commission revoked or suspended licenses for misbehavior. Sex-related offenses ranked the most common, and in 165 cases the agency disciplined educators for misconduct ranging from touching students or sending them love notes to molestation and rape.
