The school board approved an outside investigation of the Jewell School District.

JEWELL — The Jewell School District Board has committed to an outside investigation into misconduct following the arrest of a teenager suspected of sexually abusing another student at school earlier this month.

The K-12 school’s principal, George Scott, has also submitted a letter of resignation.

Last week, the small, rural school district hosted a community meeting where dozens of parents called on school leaders to provide increased transparency and accountability. On Dec. 16, many of those same parents packed rows of seats at the school library to receive an update at the district’s monthly school board meeting.

“I appreciate all of the active involvement you’re taking, and it’s so important,” said Jan Songer, a school board member. “I’m hopeful that as we go through this investigation and we provide consistent reports to you all to the best of our ability — as you know, there’s going to be some constraints on what we can say — I want you all to know that we feel this as personally as you do, and our goal is to do the right thing and rebuild trust as well.”

The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office said a 13-year-old student was taken into custody on Dec. 5 after the sheriff’s office was called to the school to investigate a complaint of sex abuse.

Over the past two weeks, many parents have voiced concerns over the way the school district has addressed similar incidents. The outside investigation aims to examine how the district has handled reports of misconduct in the past, likely going back at least three years.

TJ Hecox, the board chair, said the board will consult with the school district’s attorney to hire an investigator who hasn’t previously been involved with the district.

“It’s not going to be a real quick process,” Hecox said. “I know it’s going to be longer than most of you want to have, but hopefully we’re able to have an update within, at least by our next board meeting, if not sooner.”

Hecox confirmed that Scott, the school principal, has submitted his resignation.

Cory Pederson, the school district’s interim superintendent, also shared procedural changes the district is implementing in a more immediate effort to increase safety. The policies include required restroom passes and hall passes for all students, specified restrooms for different grade levels depending on the time of day and designated hall and restroom monitors during breakfast, lunch and recess. The school’s front doors will also be locked at all times.

“We’re continuing to evaluate,” Pederson said. “If you have any comments about any of these things or suggestions, please let the district or myself know. We take it very seriously.”

At the Dec. 16 meeting, a handful of the dozens of attendees shared public comments. One called for an outside investigation. Another emphasized the importance of prevention.

Mollie Lee, a parent in the school district, called on other parents to come together as a community. Although she sees the importance of accountability on the district level, she also sees an opportunity for adults to step up and be positive role models for children who might not have that at home.

“It’s easy to point a finger — we all want to do that,” Lee said. “But we gotta look inside ourselves and say, ‘OK, you can say they’re not doing their job, but how can we help them do better? And how can we help our kids do better?’”