CKJH special ed teacher charged with domestic violence, again

A woman employed by the Central Kitsap School District as a special education teacher was charged Monday with fourth-degree assault after an alleged drunken assault on her boyfriend, the second such charge since 2007.

Jane Marie Kerns, 48, who lives north of Kingston, was arrested Aug. 28 at her home when Kitsap County deputies were called following the assault, reports said.

She is a listed as a special education teacher at Central Kitsap Junior High School, according to the district’s Web site. Other available documents say she was hired by the district in August 2007. On Thursday she was listed in the school’s staff directory.

The boyfriend told deputies Kerns had been violent in the past, and he had dialed 911 for help on other occasions, but then told responding deputies, “it was a mistake or a misdial.” He told deputies assault charges could affect her career as a teacher.

The man said she had been arrested for fourth-degree assault before.

Kerns was charged in November 2007, according to state court records. She successfully completed a diversion agreement stemming from the first fourth-degree assault charge, the Kitsap County prosecutor’s office reported.

The latest charge comes from a call from the boyfriend Aug. 28, asking deputies to respond to the house on the 33000 block of Old Hansville Road. Deputies found the house in disarray and both Kerns and the man with wounds. Kerns appeared to have been drinking.

The man, 52, said Kerns had been drinking and has an anger problem. At one point in the disturbance, he attempted to drive away, but Kerns allegedly grabbed the keys from the ignition and scratched the man. The woman’s 12-year-old son was present during the assault, and ran to a neighbor’s house to escape the disturbance.

The man said he was tired of Kern’s drinking and violence and he is “done with her,” noting she was raised with brothers and a strict father and he would “put Jane up against any man,” the report said.

Chris Barron, a spokesman for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said Kerns holds a professional certificate with elementary and special education endorsements. The license was issued May 2009 and expires June 2014.

Barron said districts are responsible for conducting background checks on employees.

David Beil, spokesman for the district, did not immediately respond with information of Kern’s current employment status.