Mercer Island schools assessing sexual abuse protocols after outcry

Under fire from parents and students, Mercer Island School District leaders are reviewing their practices for how sexual misconduct allegations against staff are reported and investigated.

In a letter sent out districtwide on Aug. 22, Superintendent Fred Rundle said that he and the director of compliance met with members of the Mercer Island Police Department to “review our practices for reporting issues in our schools, review any new information about current or past staff members, and clarify our lines of communication.” 

The letter also outlined the different ways that students, staff or parents can report student safety concerns to the school district. All teachers and staff at the Mercer Island School District will participate in a training on Aug. 26 — a day before the first official day of school — focused on how to handle reports of sexual misconduct.

“We cannot change the past but we will not shy away from it either,” Rundle wrote in the email on Aug. 22. “We will address any and all allegations that come forward, analyze our current practices, and make improvements that keep our students safe, equip our staff with the training they need, and instill greater confidence in our district.” 

The response follows an investigation by InvestigateWest and Mercer Island Reporter regarding longtime English and journalism teacher Gary “Chris” Twombley, who was accused of sexually abusing or inappropriately pursuing at least two teenage students going back to 2016. Twombley was quietly put on paid administrative leave in 2023 for over a year before his formal resignation in February 2025. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office concluded that sexual misconduct had occurred “beyond a reasonable doubt,” but charges weren’t filed because the statute of limitations at the time had passed.

The school district has faced criticism for its handling of Twombley’s separation from the district. Students and parents weren’t notified of the misconduct and resignation until Aug. 8 — a year and a half after he was put on paid leave. The misconduct was initially brought to light by a Mercer Island parent, Brian Gaspar, who had heard rumors about Twombley and sought more information through public records requests. The school district only disclosed Twombley’s separation after learning a news story was being written.

Rundle has stressed that no public announcement was made regarding Twombley’s resignation in order to protect the victim’s identity. But many parents, students and community members have challenged the district’s response, stressing that the student’s anonymity could have been protected while also notifying the community of the public safety risk.

“Choosing to protect this predator over protecting our children is inexcusable,” former PTA President Joci Besecker said during a school board meeting on Aug. 14. “Our community only learned of this entire situation last Friday evening, Aug. 8, 2025. That is nearly a decade of missed opportunities to protect our students.

This is not just a moral failure, it's a clear violation of your obligation to our community.”

In a letter sent to current board members, former school board member David D’Souza said he wished this situation had been handled like others that the school district has had to navigate. 

“Transparency is not about exposing names or compromising confidentiality. It is about sharing what happened, what was done, and what we are learning,” said D’Souza, who served on the school board from December 2015 to December 2023 and was unaware of the allegations made against Twombley.

“In the past, we have communicated openly about antisemitism, threats of violence, bullying, and racial issues, while safeguarding student identities,” he continued. “These disclosures have allowed the community to understand, trust, and partner in solutions. This situation should have been handled the same way.”

“I do think you’ve covered it up”

During the school board meeting on Aug. 14, Rundle said that Twombley had previously indicated that he planned to contest his firing, and that a settlement agreement was reached to avoid a legal battle and the potential that he would be allowed to return to the classroom.

“I understand the decision may be difficult for some to accept, but our primary moral obligation was to protect the person who had the most at stake,” meaning the victim, Rundle said while reading from a prepared statement.

“We believed that public disclosure would not have made anyone safe or anyone less safe, but it could have caused further harm to the one student we knew had been hurt and asked for the matter not to be made public,” he said.

Three out of the five school board members — Deborah Lurie, Jody Lee and Maggie Tai Tucker — stood by the superintendent’s decision, suggesting that the community efforts to publicly disclose Twombley’s actions were for political gain. 

“Some things should be out of bounds for politics,” Lee said during the meeting.

Tom Acker, a Mercer Island resident and former City Council member, challenged the school leaders’ motives in keeping Twombley’s resignation quiet.

“I kind of feel like everybody is circling wagons now and protecting each other on the board and in the administration, rather than following the core value of looking out for the safety of our students,” Acker said during the school board meeting.

“I think that you guys have become the story now,” he added. “I do think you've covered it up.”

Since information was released about Twombley’s misconduct, anonymous users on Reddit have called out other instances of potential abuse involving additional teachers.

“I was alarmed by how many students are sharing anonymously, names of other teachers, suspicions, confirmations, situations,” resident Ashley Sternberg said during the meeting. “I have friends with daughters who are telling me stories that are ongoing with her teachers now. I say this because I want to know why we have a culture where kids don't feel safe commenting publicly."

In her public comment, Sternberg questioned the school leader’s assumption that Twombley might have been able to continue teaching had they not reached a settlement agreement, pointing to the clear evidence of wrongdoing by the police and the King County prosecutor’s office. “And the thought that he got paid out makes me really sick to my stomach,” she added.

Elizabeth Buckley, a trained court-appointed special advocate who spoke during the school board meeting, implored school leaders to take the Reddit posts seriously. “I don't know what all is true in it, but it does not look good for our district,” she said. 

Rundle said the school district has initiated one investigation since Aug. 8 into a former teacher who a school board member alleged in a public meeting had engaged in grooming behavior when he was a high schooler more than 25 years ago. But he said they don’t have enough information to formally investigate other teachers who have been named anonymously online.

“Unfortunately, a lot of what I've seen or have been drawn to, either through anonymous tips, through social media and others, haven't given me enough to do an in-depth kind of look, because I don't have enough information,” said Rundle, who became superintendent in 2022 but has been with the district for 17 years. 

“At this point, I am trying to monitor and pick up as much information that would lead me to believe that an investigation is warranted,” he added. 

In 2016, school administrators received an anonymous tip about Twombley having a potentially inappropriate relationship with a sophomore student. But after minimal investigation by the school district, the case was closed.

When asked if there would be any changes in how situations of alleged misconduct are handled moving forward — and how the public is notified — he said it was “hard to tell.”

“Every situation is so different,” he added.