Milionis To Teach Kids In Jail Accused Of Having Sex With Student, Cda Teacher Transfers To Juvenile Detention Center School
Come next fall, high school counselor Steve Milionis will be in jail - but by his own choice.
According to school officials, Milionis asked to be transferred from Coeur d’Alene High School to the juvenile detention center where he will teach jailed students.
Milionis left the high school amid turmoil this spring as news spread about recent developments in a sexual misconduct case against him.
A lawsuit was filed last fall against Milionis by a former Wallace student who accuses him of having sex with her beginning when she was 14 and lasting for many years.
Milionis used to teach special education and coach in the Wallace School District. He came to Coeur d’Alene High School in 1990.
The Wallace student, Dody Stewart, is living in Montana, and the case is unresolved. She also is suing Milionis’ former employers, the Wallace and Grangeville school districts.
When Stewart filed her lawsuit, the Coeur d’Alene School District suspended Milionis for a week as they investigated whether he had engaged in unprofessional activity while in Coeur d’Alene.
Finding none, school officials allowed Milionis to return for the remainder of the school year.
Citing his history with the district and teachers’ legal rights, school officials have said they will not take any action against Milionis unless he loses his teaching certificate.
The state Professional Standards Commission has not taken action against Milionis.
Milionis was not forced to take a position that has less individual contact with students, said Judy Drake, director of secondary education for the district.
“He had requested the move, and that move in particular,” she said. “We felt that would be an appropriate placement for him.”
The move was discussed by the School Board in a closed meeting Tuesday.
Milionis will work with one other teacher and a director at the detention center, teaching up to 25 students at a time.
, DataTimes