4 staff members on leave from Elizabeth Middle School as criminal investigation underway

A criminal investigator has been assigned to look into allegations first raised by students last spring at Elizabeth Middle School (EMS) in Elbert County, and how school administrators responded.  

The Elizabeth School District says it is working with law enforcement and conducting its review, and "during the course of the investigation, four members of the EMS staff were placed on administrative leave as determined appropriate by the superintendent."

A spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office confirmed that the case was referred to them by the Elizabeth Police Department, when the department determined they had a conflict of interest, but was unable to provide additional detail stating that there are "no publicly available documents at this time."

Elizabeth Schools stated that "all school district employees in Colorado have a mandatory responsibility to promptly report matters related to safety and wellbeing of students, and Elizabeth School District annually trains all staff members on this responsibility."  

Elizabeth Schools Public Information Officer Jason Hackett said, "It's a matter of the mandatory reporting law and what happened from the time that the students made that report until the district administration heard about it."

A news release by the school district further stated:

"As the investigation and determination of next steps continue, Elizabeth High School Assistant Principal Kimberly Runyan will serve as interim principal at EMS. Mrs. Runyan has served the Elizabeth community for five years, making her uniquely familiar to the staff, students, and families at Elizabeth Middle School. Prior to becoming an administrator, Mrs. Runyan was a professional learning specialist in Douglas County School District and, as a 25-year education professional, has taught kindergarten, second and fourth grades at the elementary level and social studies, language arts and several electives at the middle school level. She is committed to continuing the history of excellence at Elizabeth Middle School.  

Mrs. Runyan will be assisted by Mark Carara, a retired principal from Falcon School District 49 in Colorado Springs, and Jim McCoin, a retired athletic director in Colorado Springs District 11. Mr. McCoin, whose children attended Elizabeth Schools, will support EMS' athletic program to ensure full continuity of activities."