BHS teacher investigation may center on ‘inappropriate communications’ with teenage student

Published 3:40 pm Friday, March 20, 2015

The Bainbridge High teacher who was suspended for alleged improper conduct with a teenager at the high school late last month was accused of “inappropriate communications” with a student, according to records released Friday by the Bainbridge Island School District.

District officials and the Bainbridge Island Police Department have shared few details on the incident that prompted school administrators at Bainbridge High to go to police Feb. 25 with the allegations.

School and district officials announced in an email to parents late last month that an unnamed teacher had been placed on administrative leave following allegations of “inappropriate conduct between a BHS teacher and student.”

District officials have declined to say more about the incident, and Bainbridge police have also kept their work on the case closely guarded.

Records released by the school district Friday following a public records request by the Bainbridge Review, however, show that staff at the high school were notified a little more than an hour before the allegations became public of the incident involving the teacher.

In an email sent to BHS staff, Principal Mary Alice O’Neill said that allegations of “inappropriate communications” had been made.

O’Neill also called for a staff meeting in the BHS theater before the start of school the next morning, according to the email, so a “personnel issue” could be discussed.

Records released Friday also show district officials have been in contact with two attorneys — Bill Coats and Daniel C. Montopoli of the Tacoma-based law firm Vandeberg Johnson & Gandara — since Feb. 27.

Coats, a former assistant attorney general for Washington state, is an expert in school district and municipal law.

Montopoli is a specialist in school law and business litigation, and has represented school districts in legal challenges that involve civil rights, constitutional law, employment law, and special education disputes, according to his law firm’s website.

Multiple emails were sent between the law firm and district officials, Superintendent Faith Chapel and the school board earlier this month.

The district did not release those emails to the Review, and said they were being withheld due to “attorney-client privilege.”

Bainbridge police continue to investigate the allegations, but have declined to characterize the nature of the complaint that was brought to police by BHS administrators the morning after they learned of the allegations.

A recent crime log published by the police department labeled the incident as “sexual misconduct” with a minor, but Bainbridge Police Chief Matthew Hamner would not comment on the accuracy of that label.

Hamner said the investigation is expected to stretch into next month.

District officials earlier declined to release records on the accused teacher, who remains on paid leave, and cited the ongoing nature of the investigation.