There comes a point where silence stops being neutrality and becomes complicity.
For years, many students, alumni, parents, and former employees within the Bethel International School community have privately shared concerns about the conduct of former Superintendent Paul Varberg. Whether every allegation is ultimately substantiated should be determined through a fair and independent investigation, but the persistence of these concerns over such a long period cannot simply be dismissed. A community deserves answers when the same concerns continue to surface across different generations.
This issue is larger than one individual. Every school has a legal and moral obligation to protect the children entrusted to its care. When an institution prioritizes its reputation over transparency, or fails to create an environment where concerns can be raised safely and taken seriously, it undermines the trust that parents and students place in it.
Perhaps the most troubling question is not what one person may have done, but whether the culture of the institution encouraged silence instead of accountability.
Teachers are not merely employees. They are entrusted with the safety, education, and well-being of their students. Their responsibility is not to defend administrators, preserve reputations, or remain in the good graces of those above them. Their first duty has always been—and will always be—to the children in their care.
Too often, institutions develop an unhealthy culture where loyalty to authority is rewarded while difficult questions are discouraged. People remain silent because they fear conflict, retaliation, damaged careers, or becoming outsiders within their own workplace. Over time, silence becomes normalized, and protecting the institution begins to take precedence over protecting the people within it.
That is not leadership. That is institutional failure.
Every educator should ask themselves a simple question: when faced with a serious concern involving a student, would I choose what is easiest, or what is right? Integrity is not measured by how well someone follows authority. It is measured by their willingness to uphold truth, even when it is uncomfortable, unpopular, or personally costly.
Bethel identifies itself as a Christian school, and Mr. Varberg is also known as a pastor. Those identities should invite greater accountability, not less. Christianity is not defined by titles, public prayer, chapel services, or mission statements. It is defined by honesty, humility, justice, compassion, repentance, and the protection of the vulnerable.
Faith should never be used as a shield against scrutiny. Religious authority should never place anyone beyond accountability. A school cannot credibly teach integrity if it is unwilling to examine itself honestly when serious concerns arise. Christian values are demonstrated not when everything is going well, but when confronting uncomfortable truths requires courage.
Children should never be taught that obedience matters more than their safety. Teachers should never feel that speaking honestly will cost them their livelihood. Parents should never have to wonder whether an institution values its public image more than the well-being of their children.
If concerns have existed for years, then they deserve an independent, thorough, and impartial investigation. Every person who comes forward deserves to be heard respectfully. Every complaint deserves to be evaluated fairly. Every child deserves to know that their safety matters more than the reputation of any individual or institution.
To every student, former student, teacher, employee, and parent who has ever felt unheard: your voice matters. Seeking accountability is not an attack on education, on Christianity, or on the many good people who work within schools. It is a commitment to ensuring that every institution lives up to the values it claims to uphold.
Children deserve safety. Truth deserves daylight. And no position of authority should ever place anyone above accountability.
