Notice to Mercer Island School District Community Regarding Serious Matter Involving Former Teacher Chris Twombley and Student

(Editor's Note: Superintendent Rundle spoke to the Board and community at the August 14 Board Meeting about this message and answered questions that had arisen from this message. His statement and answers to questions were published on Friday, August 15 in our Board Meeting Recap.)

Dear Mercer Island Community,

This is not a message I ever wanted to write, and I know it is not one any community wants to receive. I am writing to address a serious matter involving a former student and a former Mercer Island High School (MIHS) teacher, Mr. Chris Twombley.

The below outlines the actions taken by the District since learning of this situation in December 2023, including our cooperation with the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO), and why I am sharing the details today.

In December 2023, the City of Mercer Island informed me that a former student, now an adult, disclosed to a mandatory reporter that roughly ten years earlier, Mr. Twombley, who is no longer employed by the District, engaged in conduct that likely violated the District’s sexual harassment and professional boundaries policies. Upon receiving this information, the District immediately placed Mr. Twombley on paid administrative leave while the MIPD conducted its investigation. Throughout the entire matter, I kept the School Board apprised of the investigations and their conclusions as well as the actions I took.

When the police completed their investigation, the MIPD referred the case to the KCPAO who ultimately declined to file charges not for lack of credibility but instead because Mr. Twombley’s alleged conduct, while serious, fell outside the statute of limitations. The KCPAO made clear that they found the report credible and believed there was evidence of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Subsequently, the District kept Mr. Twombley on leave and undertook its own investigation. 

This investigation confirmed that Mr. Twombley engaged in inappropriate conduct with the student, in violation of District policies including sexual harassment of students and invasion of professional boundaries. Neither the police nor District investigators found evidence that Mr. Twombley engaged in similar conduct with other students.

It is worth noting that in the same year Mr. Twombley engaged in inappropriate conduct with this student, MIHS received an anonymous tip alleging that Mr. Twombley sent text messages to a MIHS student that would have violated District policy. Unfortunately, because the tipster would not disclose their name or the name of the student who received the texts, both the MIPD and District investigations were hindered. Despite multiple efforts to identify and follow up with the anonymous tipster, the investigations were ultimately closed due to lack of identifying information. 

From the December 2023 night I was informed about the investigation into Mr. Twombley’s inexcusable conduct, the District and I focused on four primary priorities:

1. Our first and most urgent concern was the well-being of the former student, now an adult. From the beginning, the affected student was clear that they did not want to be thrust into the public eye and that their interest was in preventing Mr. Twombley from working with students ever again. Throughout this process, we have worked to protect their identity and privacy while achieving the goal of preventing Mr. Twombley from teaching again. 
2. We took immediate action to protect our current students. Mr. Twombley was placed on administrative leave the same night we were informed of the allegations. He has not worked or interacted with our students since.
3. We investigated thoroughly to determine if there were additional students impacted or other victims we could identify. Neither the police nor our own investigation found evidence of other victims.
4. Consistent with the objective to prevent Mr. Twombley from working with any student, I notified the Office of Professional Practice, recommending they review Mr. Twombley’s conduct and consider revoking his license. (Mr. Twombley is no longer certified to teach in Washington State.) 
    

We met with Mr. Twombley and his representatives from the Washington Education Association (WEA) in August 2024. It was evident from the initial conversation that terminating Mr. Twombley would be met with legal resistance. While I am confident the District would have ultimately prevailed, a legal process posed challenges to our priorities in several ways.

• Legal proceedings would have created more opportunities for the matter to become public, thereby compromising the privacy of the affected student, which is something they did not want.
• Additionally, I did not want to continue with a process that likely would have required participation by the affected student. 
• No matter how strong the case, there was a small but real possibility that legal proceedings could have resulted in a ruling that would have allowed Mr. Twombley to teach again. That outcome was unacceptable.
   

Instead of terminating Mr. Twombley, I entered into a settlement agreement under which Mr. Twombley resigned and we paid him through February of last school year. This was likely a smaller financial burden than what would have been expended in a legal proceeding, but far more importantly, it achieved the priorities we had for the affected student. The affected student’s privacy was maintained and we ensured that Mr. Twombely would never return to a classroom in our District. The steps we took also lead to ensure that, because of his inexcusable conduct with our former student, Mr. Twombley would not be able to teach at any other Washington public school in the future. 

The reason I share this with you now is because someone with knowledge about this matter, likely a person within our District, disclosed information to an individual who then made public records requests. Based on what they received, it appears this person shared information with media outlets who have now contacted the district and other relevant parties seeking additional information. Several reporters have now contacted the District, and we believe a story will be published within the week. 

While I remain angry about Mr. Twombley’s conduct, what I feel most today is regret. Our former student at the center of this painful and personal situation does not want this situation to be public or their privacy to be compromised. This person consistently shared a desire for their privacy to be retained, and I wished that we could have done better. I implore our community to not speculate about their identity or background. Please respect their privacy. 

We remain committed to the safety and well-being of all students. If any student, past or present, has been the victim of sexual or physical abuse, I want to encourage them to seek support from a trusted adult (a school counselor, an administrator, a teacher, a guardian, a coach, or staff member); the school resource officer; the Say Something App; or by calling or texting the King County Teen Link- 206-461-3222 or 866-TEENLINK).  

The following timeline outlines the significant events that transpired once we were made aware of the allegations:

• December 14, 2023: I was notified by a member of the City of Mercer Island about the MIPD investigation into Mr. Twombley. Mr. Twombley was put on administrative leave effective immediately and a Child Protective Services report was made on behalf of the District. I also notified interim Board President Dan Glowitz of the situation and need for a Board Executive Session, which was subsequently held on December 19. 
• December 15, 2023: We engaged outside counsel to secure a third party investigator to conduct our own investigation.
• January 11, 2024: The MIPD investigation concluded and was referred to the KCPAO.
• February 29, 2024: Citing non-evidentiary reasons, specifically that the alleged conduct (evidence found it credible beyond reasonable doubt) fell outside the statute of limitations, the KCPAO formally declined to charge Mr. Twombley with any charges related to sexual misconduct. Upon learning of this decision, the District continued with its own investigation. 
• April 9, 2024: I communicated with the Office of Professional Practice (OPP) regarding the situation and recommended his teaching licenses be revoked. As of today, Mr. Twombley is no longer a certificated teacher in Washington.
• July 28, 2024: The District finalized its investigation, which sufficiently supported a finding that Mr. Twombley engaged in inappropriate conduct that violated the District’s Sexual Harassment of Students and Professional Boundaries Policies. During the course of the MIPD investigation and District’s own investigation, no additional victims were identified. 
• August 29, 2024: A separation agreement was reached with Mr. Twombley, ending his employment with MISD.
   

As a parent myself, I would be interested in what the District does on an ongoing basis to train staff and protect students. Below are some of the key practices we have in place:

• All newly hired staff members complete an FBI fingerprint background check, which searches national criminal history databases. Whereas previously this was a one-time event, these checks will be conducted on a regular basis throughout employment.
• Staff receive mandatory reporting training on how to identify and report abuse, neglect, and exploitation including explicit instructions on their mandatory reporting obligations under District Policy 3421, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Procedure and associated procedures. This training reaffirms their duty to report any suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect to Child Protective Services (CPS).
• Human Resources provides required training that includes information on recognizing, preventing, and responding to sexual misconduct within the school setting.
• Annually, staff receive in-person training addressing:
  • Professional Boundaries: Emphasizing maintaining the highest professional, moral, and ethical standards in their interactions with students. This training is designed to help staff recognize grooming behaviors and explicitly reviews District Policy 5253, Maintaining Professional Staff/Student Boundaries, and its implementing procedures. 
  • Prohibition of Sexual Harassment training: Reiterating that sexual harassment is strictly prohibited under both District Policy 3205, Sexual Harassment of Students Prohibited, and state and federal law. Human Resources provides annual required training that includes information on recognizing, preventing, and responding to sexual misconduct within the school setting.
• Students receive age-appropriate instruction on safe and respectful relationships, personal boundaries, appropriate vs. inappropriate touching, consent, etc. These lessons are delivered through the District’s elementary Second Step lessons and middle and high school health courses.
• The District has and continues to emphasize finding ways to ensure all students have a trusted adult in our school community whom they can turn to for support. 
   

No student should ever be placed in an unsafe or compromising situation by a member of our staff. What happened to this former student is awful and beyond unacceptable. We take the safety of the students who come to our schools each day seriously. Although nearly ten years have passed, I accept responsibility for the harm caused by a former educator in our system and remain committed to fostering schools that are safe, respectful, and supportive for every student. I implore our community to avoid actions or inquiries that could cause further harm rather than healing. Our focus has been and must continue to be on past, current, and future students.

Respectfully, 

Dr. Fred Rundle
Superintendent
Mercer Island School District