Community rallies for school safety as prosecutors decline felony charges in stabbing of teacher

Community members and teachers in Billings participated in rallies Monday calling for improved school safety after news broke that a former student who stabbed a teacher at Senior High School in January won’t face felony charges. 

The decision to decline felony charges and refer the case to city prosecutors for possible misdemeanor charges was reported Friday by KTVQ. News of the decision sparked a community backlash, with some angry at what they saw as a lack of accountability. Superintendent Erwin Garcia sent a memo to media outlets Friday saying he was “frustrated” to learn there would be no felony case and that the situation “does not ease the pain or provide the clear resolution our community needs.”

Garcia wrote in response to emailed questions from Montana Free Press Monday that he hadn’t gotten an explanation from the county attorney’s office. 

“No explanation means confusion for the community as a whole, including teachers, staff, and students,” he wrote.  

The student involved has graduated, and the teacher remains on leave, Garcia wrote. The stabbing took place after school Jan. 13. 

Garcia said the district would conduct its own investigation “using any information the school district can gain access to, including requesting criminal justice information. We will ask the court to grant that access as quickly as possible,” he wrote.

In response to emailed questions, Garcia said human resources, the district’s legal counsel and he himself would conduct the investigation, but he wouldn’t speculate on possible outcomes. He said the legal team was working on filing the lawsuit to obtain the criminal investigative file. 

In light of the incident, Garcia said officials reduced the number of accessible entrances at Senior during the school day, enhanced radio communications and applied for grants to improve visual notification systems, such as TV monitors with school-wide message displays. 

“I respect the work law enforcement and the County Attorney’s Office have done,” Garcia wrote. “In the days ahead, our priority will be the teachers, staff, and students who have carried the weight of this event.”

Acting Yellowstone County Attorney Arielle Dean told MTFP Monday that she wouldn’t comment on the decision but that prosecutors didn’t rush.

“I can say that the Billings Police Department did a lengthy and thorough investigation on their end, and then we took our time reviewing everything — there’s a lot of information in the case — before making our decision,” Dean said. 

A handful of people gathered outside of Senior High at 11 a.m. Monday to draw attention to the need for teachers and students to feel safe. People held signs that read, “Honk for safety,” and a card table held boxes of sandwiches. The event was hosted in part by the Billings Education Association, the teachers’ union. 

“This is not a protest in any way,” said BEA President Lance Edward. “It’s not against the school district. It’s not against our superintendent, our school board.” 

Instead, Edward said, the goal of the rally was to keep school safety “in the forefront of people’s thoughts.” He said the stabbing had ripple effects across other schools in the district.

“This is something that potentially could impact the feeling for every educator, every family, every student in this district,” Edward said. “And school safety has to be something that cannot be pushed to the side.” 

Sam Telling, of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, said there are “gaps” in building security and student behavioral health that must be filled and said that some of that work could be done as lawmakers review school funding in the 2027 Montana Legislature.

Another “peaceful community protest” was set for 4 p.m. Monday at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, according to a flyer for the events.