BILLINGS — More than a dozen people addressed Yellowstone County commissioners Tuesday morning, voicing frustration over former Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito’s decision to not pursue felony charges in the Billings Senior High School stabbing case.
Among those speaking out were students and educators who say they are still dealing with the impact of the violence.
Watch video from the county commissioners meeting:
Senior High girls’ basketball coaches Brooke Taylor and Nycole LaRowe witnessed the immediate aftermath of the incident.
The stabbing occurred Jan. 13, 2026, after school and involved a teacher and a student, according to Billings Public Schools Superintendent Erwin Garcia. The teacher involved has been identified as Jason Rader.
Related: After months of questions, prosecutors near decision in Billings Senior stabbing case
“We were in film session in Brooke's room with our varsity girls when we heard somebody scream for help in the hallway,” LaRowe told MTN. “We told the girls to stay in the room and walked out into the hallway where Jason almost ran into me covered in blood.”
Taylor said they pulled Rader into the classroom.
“We closed and locked the door, and we started barricading,” Taylor said. “I kept telling the girls, like, we're in here, we're okay, we're together, we're safe.”
The coaches and many other educators want to see justice.
Related: Senior High teachers, students picket after stabbing case referred to Billings city attorney
“The accountability piece is missing,” LaRowe said. “None of us are going to feel safe until that happens, right?”
The comments came shortly after Arielle Dean was sworn in as the interim Yellowstone County attorney. She is stepping in after Twito left his position as Yellowstone County attorney to become interim U.S. attorney for the District of Montana.
Many educators hope newly appointed Dean will answer their call for consequences.
“I can understand the frustrations,” said Dean in an interview with MTN.
She said the case now sits in the city attorney’s hands.
“They are conducting their own review and making their own decisions about the case,” she said. “Going from there, there's a court process to release that information too. So, it can take a little bit of time. I just ask the public to be patient and to understand that there's a lot to this and a lot of information that needs to be reviewed by the city attorney's office at this point.”
Dean told MTN more information on the case could change the outcome.
“No investigation is ever really complete because there could always be more information that comes forward, that gets presented that could impact a decision,” Dean said. “What I can tell you is that I deeply care about the safety of this community.”
Billings Public Schools has kept a record of acts of violence from students toward teachers in the district.
The district reported 79 of these workers comp incidents during the 2025 to 2026 school year. The reported peaked during the 2023 to 2024 school year with 135 incidents, a significant increase from 31 reported incidents in the 2016 to 2017 school year.
Former school board member Karen Moses told MTN she believes the increase is due to lack of funding for counselors and mental health resources in schools.
“We are woefully behind in what the state provides,” said Moses. “We do not have the personnel and the resources we need to help these kids early on and to help the staff.”
The Montana School Funding Interim Commission has approved a report containing 10 draft bills, which propose higher budgets for schools, easier access to school funding and more at-risk student programs.
Those bills will be reviewed during the 2027 Montana legislative session.
