COEUR d’ALENE — An October trial was set for a former Hayden Meadows school teacher who pleaded not guilty Friday to three counts of child abuse.

Ronald D. Stone, 61, of Wallace, a fifth-grade teacher at Hayden Meadows Elementary who was arrested last month on two counts of lewd conduct with a minor and sexual abuse of a child under 16, will have an Oct. 26 trial in Coeur d’Alene’s First District Court.

Attorneys worked out the schedule Friday after Stone agreed to waive his speedy trial rights. First District Judge Cynthia Meyer also set a Sept. 19 pretrial conference, and at the behest of attorneys, put in place a no contact order.

Jim Siebe, who represents Stone, asked the court to consider a motion for bond reduction although Stone was released from jail after putting his house in Wallace up for collateral several weeks ago. The home’s value is assessed at $279,233, according to court records.

In the motion filed Friday, Siebe said the bond was excessive because his client has been a North Idaho resident for 55 years and a teacher in Coeur d’Alene district for 39 years, and has no criminal record.

Siebe argued that the allegations against his client are between 13 and 20 years old and that Stone was accused of one of the same allegations eight years ago, but the charge was dismissed as a result of a polygraph test.

“(The) defendant’s house is his most accessible means of obtaining funds to defend himself,” Siebe wrote. “Tying up $250,000 of equity severely hampers his ability to avail himself of his constitutional rights in the proceedings.”

Stone, who was hired by the school district in 1981, was arrested on a warrant following a March 27 grand jury indictment. The charges according to the indictment stem from alleged lascivious contact that occurred between May 26, 1999 and May 25, 2006. The three alleged victims were between 4 and 16 years old at the time.

Meyer did not rule on Siebe’s motion.

Lewd conduct can carry a life prison sentence, depending on the egregiousness of the crime.