Police report says former KS lawmaker threatened second-graders. She says that isn’t so
Former state Rep. Cheryl Helmer will no longer be asked to substitute teach for Catholic Diocese of Wichita schools after she was accused of threatening a class of second-graders.
According to a police report, Helmer was substituting for a music class at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School on Oct. 7 when she told the students, “Keep behaving this way and kids are going to use guns on you in high school.”
But Helmer, a Republican who served as the representative from the 79th District from 2019 to 2023, said it didn’t happen that way.
“SOMEONE IS LYING AND LYING BIG TIME! AND IT SURE IS NOT ME!” she said in an email to The Eagle.
The diocese and Helmer seem to agree that she will not be substituting at local Catholic schools in the future. But the descriptions of what happened diverge.
The police report, filed by St. Catherine principal Jeremy Barr, said Helmer was substituting for a morning music class when she made the inappropriate comment. Another teacher brought concerns about what Helmer said to Barr and superintendent Janet Eaton, and Helmer was sent home.
“Jeremy said that the 2nd grade class may have been acting up a little prior to the comment being made, but nothing that would justify making that comment,” the report read.
It also said that an administrator told police other schools in the parish had previously had problems with Helmer making comments to students referencing guns and shootings.
After the incident, the report said, a teacher spoke with the students and told them “adults should not be talking to them in that manner.” The report also said the principal planned to send an email informing parents of the comment and saying the school counselor would be available to any students in need.
According to Sedgwick County Emergency Communications 911 scanner traffic, Barr did not want to press charges, but wanted a police report of the incident filed. It was recorded as a disorderly conduct/other non-DV incident.
The Catholic Diocese of Wichita declined to comment for this story.
Helmer, who previously worked as a guidance counselor for Wichita Public Schools, said she was teaching that morning when a second-grade student refused to participate in the class activity. The student, Helmer said, told her “he was a football player and did not have to do the drawing or listen to music.”
Helmer said she told him that continued learning was necessary for future success, including in sports. The boy misinterpreted her remarks as an insult, she said, shouting that she had called him “stupid.”
“I love children. I lost my daughter and it made me love children and appreciate them and honor them even more,” Helmer said. “I would never ever call a child stupid as there is no stupid child.”
She said she calmly sat next to the student to explain that she did not say or imply that. She said she believed the issue was resolved as the children moved on to the next class.
She said that’s when the parish assistant principal told her she was fired and was not invited to return to diocese property or schools. As the children “stood around and listened with horrified faces,” Helmer said, the assistant principal accused her of calling the child “stupid” based on his claim and corroboration from several boys he had questioned. She said the assistant principal “twisted” her words and she denied the accusations.
“I have been teaching over 48 years and never called anyone a name, especially an awful name like stupid,” Helmer said. “I would never, ever call anyone stupid.”
Helmer did not say guns came up in the conversation.
St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School does not have an assistant principal listed on the school’s website, but does have an associate principal.
Helmer said she was then “paraded loudly” out of the school as teachers laughed. She said she believes her less-than-polite discharge from the diocese was the result of her campaigning “for the opposing Republican” against “the Democrat Catholic” in a political race that previous weekend.
Helmer was asked to leave before Wichita police arrived to file their report. Helmer said she’s since been notified by Eaton, the superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Wichita, that she is no longer welcome to teach at Diocese schools.
Helmer said the altercation has scarred her relationship with the diocese. She said she’ll be putting her farm up for sale “to get away from this place” and to find a community where she can ”make free choices about what church I belong to” and “freely go to church without being arrested or blacklisted.”
“The school allowed an angry 6 year old who did not want to do his work to accuse me of calling him stupid,” Helmer said. “ … I guess I was safe to be around children for 50 years but not today.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM.
