Iowa City parents seek answers after counselor charged with abuse

Scott and Cheri Barr were looking for the right words.

They have two children at Iowa City's Lemme Elementary School. They wondered what to tell them when a former Lemme guidance counselor was arrested this week for allegedly sexually abusing a student earlier this decade.

“We just told them what we felt they needed to know,” said Cheri Barr, 41, of Iowa City.

But they wanted ideas for what else to say.

The Barrs were among about 40 concerned parents who attended a meeting last night at City High where representatives from agencies that deal with sexual abuse cases offered advice. Counselors were available to talk privately after the meeting.

Iowa City school district Superintendent Lane Plugge and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness discussed the allegations, although the open investigation limited what they could say and nothing new was made public.

Donald L. Clark, 41, of Coralville, was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree sexual abuse. Police say Clark abused a fifth-grade boy at Lemme during the 2003-04 school year. He also was a counselor at Grant Wood Elementary. He resigned from the district last year.

Clark remained in jail Thursday on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

Only a few parents spoke, and the tone was always civil, although a couple neared tears.

One mother said her sons attend Lemme and are struggling with trust because the person who taught students about abuse may have abused someone.

Karla Miller, executive director of the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, said children often are taught to trust authority figures, but they should instead be taught that people have to earn their trust.

Plugge said the district is focusing on how to make parents and students feel safe in the schools. Lyness said that as a parent of a Lemme student, she was positive the school's staff would be there for children and parents.

“The staff at Lemme are the best,” she said.

A couple of people asked whether the district would allow staff to continue to meet with students behind closed doors. Plugge said the district is reviewing its policies, but he believes the current policies are effective.

In response to another question, Miller said most offenders have multiple victims. Police are trying to determine if there was more than one victim in this case.