Washington

Video, Transcript: Kirk Ferentz Washington Postgame

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2024

Video, Transcript: Kirk Ferentz Washington Postgame

KIRK FERENTZ: Good afternoon. Certainly it’s just a great feeling. Night and day from losing. There’s nothing harder than that. I am happy for our team. Really proud of the guys.

The biggest thing this week was getting back on our feet and going back to work because the schedule is not going to go away. Really pleased with the way the guys prepared, the way they kept focused on things that were important. Certainly today it showed, and they competed the full 60. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a great effort by everybody.

To that point, I thought we played good complementary football today. When we do that, it gives us a chance to have good outcomes. Whether it be the kicking game, which we thought we had some opportunities there. Rhys punted really well. That first punt was a big thing for us.

Obviously the field goals. Drew did a great job there. I think the return game was a big factor in the game too. We were hopeful that we would have some opportunity.

Wetjen has done a good job returning kicks, and we thought with the hang time that their kickoff guy and punter had that we might have some chances. The guys did a great job. They were on top of it.

A huge play in the game in my mind was Jermari’s interception. They’re driving the ball to about the 25, something like that, and he came up with that pick. Then we come back and get a field goal off that.

So just a lot of good complementary football, guys feeding off each other a little bit. Just proud of the way the guys responded and have responded this way.

Good second half for us and feels good to get the win. Feels great to be in Kinnick and get the win here and just want to compliment our fans. I thought they were really a big part of the game. They were really into it, loud, and appreciate that. Great deal.

Q. It’s just kind of feels like it’s getting to a point where, oh, Kaleb Johnson did it again. Is that how it feels to you because it was a great start to the season, and now it’s consistency?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, I have said this a couple of times, but it just ties in with the theme. Year three tends to be a year in general terms where guys really start to get traction, and he’s done some good things over the last couple of years, but the consistency right now in not only what you see on the game field, but the way he prepares, the way he practices, he’s doing a great job.

Just maturity I think and really having a bettered grip on where maybe to be looking and what to be focused on instead of wasting time on some other stuff. He’s really done a great job there. Really setting up blocks, being patient. He’s running tough, and that’s a big part too. He’s starting to learn to use what he has, and that’s a good thing for everybody.

Q. 200 career wins. Pretty small group of coaches who get to that point. What does this mean to you?

KIRK FERENTZ: Two things: The honest answer is I was more focused on us getting four. I didn’t want to think about being at 3-3 right now, and that’s just how it works in season. Everything is week-to-week.

One thing in any league and certainly in the NFL and certainly in college football, if you lose back-to-back, that just makes things hard. That’s kind of just a staple. It’s all about getting back on your feet and getting back in the fight, and our guys did a great job of that.

Then as far as the 200 part, you have to be lucky. You have to be in the right place, first of all. You have to be with a lot of good people, and that’s coaching staff and support staff. A lot of people are involved in this. I’ve worked with nothing but great coaches my entire career. I’ve been lucky wherever I’ve been.

Then, most importantly, the players. I was great to have the ’04 team here today. You have Jonathan Babineaux. Jonathan almost epitomizes what it is because he had three really good years here. He had two where he couldn’t play. ’01 he missed an entire year with a broken leg from spring ball, and then in ’03 couldn’t finish the year out.

Then goes on and plays 12 years in the NFL, raising a family. Just what a great awesome guy. Plus, he’s a golfer, which we have two D-linemen, him and Clayborn. I’m off on a tangent here.

Anyway, that’s what the game is about. The guys you get to work with and having all those guys out there today because that team, boy, it was all about response that year. That was fun. We were 2-2. I think there was some negativity back then too.

Anyway, it was week-to-week, and that’s what it’s going to be the rest of the way for us this season as well.

Q. 200 wins means a lot to you, but also to your players, past and present. What have you taken away from them? How have they helped you get to this spot, not just by winning, but by — as you said, the 2004 team really struggled through adversity. This team struggled through adversity last week. What you did in ’20, ’16, and on. How much have they influenced you to help you get to this position?

KIRK FERENTZ: Let’s be clear, if we didn’t win, I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s just how it works, and it always has.

Coaches are supposed to be in front, and they’re supposed to be the ones setting the tone, all that stuff, but a lot of times we feed off of our players too. Losing doesn’t seem to get any easier. It’s distasteful. It affects everything you do in life.

I don’t start feeling any better at least until we get on the field and then you’re around the guys, we’re doing what we like to do. So that’s like the start of it, but it lingers, and it really does until you get back on the field and compete.

The best part about coaching always has been working with players. Again, I’ve been so fortunate where the guys I’ve worked with on a daily basis have been really good folks. We learn from our players all the time, and parents learn from their kids too. Sometimes some of those things are interesting.

Yeah, so you do, and all the stories. A guy like Jonathan Babineaux, how do you stay so positive? He just did. He kept coming back and sticking with it.

Pat Angerer went through a lot of stuff during his career, and that’s real life, but that’s what the game teaches you.

Q. With the season that Kaleb Johnson is having, do you feel like it’s a valid conversation to put him in the category with what Shonn Greene did in 2008? I know we’re halfway through here, but he’s over 900 yards now and halfway through?

KIRK FERENTZ: I’ll tell you exactly what I told him a couple of weeks ago because — somebody gave me some article about him being in the Heisman race or whatever. This was three weeks into the season.

I said, It’s awesome what you are doing. So proud of you, and all of us are because, again, he’s not just playing good. He’s practicing well. He’s just been so wired in. I pointed out to him, Shonn Greene did it week after week after week 12 times. The only guy in the country to do it that year.

As much as everybody likes to talk about things… and, believe me, I’m so pleased with the way he’s playing, but it’s all about running the race, the whole race. That’s why we have 12 games on the schedule.

Our team will get evaluated the same way. I know we like to come to conclusions every now and then, good or bad, but it’s really about how the whole thing goes.

That’s part of him understanding, seeing the big picture. Doesn’t mean he’s going to stay on the tracks, but he has been great, and he was great again today. I’m not surprised because I see him act that way every day. He’s focused on the right things, which gives him a chance.

He has a legitimate chance. What did you say, he has 900? We’re halfway right now. That’s pretty impressive. I think that’s about as good as we’ve had, right, I’m guessing? I’m not a big stat guy, but that’s pretty good.

Q. Blocked kick in the first quarter by Yahya Black. Two turnovers by the defense. Three fourth down stops. How big of an affect does it have on the rest of your team when your defense is coming up with big play after big play?

KIRK FERENTZ: Those are all good things and really pertinent in the fact that we didn’t start out well. They drove it the first two times, drove it right down the field. That was a little disconcerting when you see them possess the ball like that. They’re not just possessing the ball, but they’re moving it.

So you get a little concerned there, but again, coming off of the plays when you need them and the field goal, we thought there might be a chance on that as well. Not to say that Coach Woods called the shot, but he saw some things that maybe we would have a chance if things panned out right, and they have to.

Then, you know, just keep working. You keep working, but those things are all good things. Getting the stops on downs. The score got away a little bit, so they had to do that. Once we got to where we were pretty sure they’re going to have to throw the ball, it made it a little easier for us to play, but they did a great job. They’ve been doing it all year. They have moved the ball on everybody this year.

Q. Kirk, do you have a favorite kind of win? I mean, I would assume that bouncing back after a loss like last week’s would be that kind of win, but how would you describe it?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, it ties in with what I said. Losing… it seems like the older you get, the more distasteful it is. Mary said that, like, 40 years ago. She said to me one day, It seems pretty simple: If you guys win, everything is good, and if you lose, everything sucks.

It really hasn’t changed. I know fans get upset when we lose. I get that. Everybody is looking for reasons, but it’s all about trying to move forward and get better, see what we can do to fix things and get better. If you don’t have the right kind of guys around you, it’s tough.

Just proud of our guys. They go to work and just keep pushing things.

Q. I wanted to ask you about injuries. I saw Stephens in a boot. Any other injuries after this one besides that?

KIRK FERENTZ: He has an ankle, and then Hayden Large tried to go in pregame, and he couldn’t go. He has an ankle, too. I don’t think anything significant, but hopefully get him back here next week.

Q. Game one to game six, where are the biggest areas you feel like this team has grown? Where are the areas you feel like there’s still room for more?

KIRK FERENTZ: I think in a lot of areas, and that’s good news. I think offensively we’re gaining ground. Not where we want to be yet, but we’re getting there and did some good things.

I think Cade continues to look more and more comfortable with what he’s doing, making good decisions. He made a good one in the run game today that went down to our right to Kaleb. So it was an either/or type of situation. He saw that beautifully.

Yeah, I think a lot of areas. Our backup defensive linemen are starting to come on and get some traction. They’re getting a lot of work out there, and that’s been good. Today our special teams were good.

In every area we need to be more consistent. That’s probably the biggest thing here as we go forward.

Q. This is the fifth time in six games you rushed for 200-plus yards. You said earlier in the year that you can’t obviously microwave the offensive line; maybe put it on the grill and now it has a good flavor to it. Where do you think things stand with the offensive line and particularly in the running game, and how much do they complement Kaleb and vice versa?

KIRK FERENTZ: It’s mutual. It’s everybody. Receivers get involved too and the tight ends. It’s everybody being involved and doing a good job.

I said this back in August. Pretty confident we’re a better line up front now. We’re more confident. We’re more mature physically. Outside of Beau, we’ve been healthier, which is a good thing too. Tyler Elsbury jumped in there and did a really nice job, so that was good to see that.

Yeah, it’s complementary, and I thought our protection for the most part was better today too. Not that we threw a lot, but they hit us on that one blitz I think it was. It looked like somebody came off underneath. Not the blitz guy, but the other guy. Yeah, overall we’re making strides.

We still have room to go, and that’s the best part about it right now. We’re still at the halfway mark, and I think our whole team can get better if we keep our eyes where we need to be.

Q. Dayton Howard gets his first career reception. It’s a touchdown. What have you seen from him over these last two years?

KIRK FERENTZ: Young guy with potential. He felt bad about the penalty, too, and he should because I just pointed out to him, you know, we’re kicking it now from over here instead of over there. Today it didn’t matter, but if the score is tighter, that would be consequential.

It’s been good to have him out there. We think he is a good prospect, and I think that’s reflective of our whole group with the receivers right now. Reece has done a good job. You’ve got Dayton out there, Jarriett. Two young guys that aren’t playing a ton, but they’re doing a good job and improving in practice. We’ve just been better certainly, and Gill has been doing a good job, too.

I think we have room for improvement here, and that’s an area that we should continue to improve over the next six weeks if we practice well.

Q. Coach, was there any confusion on Washington’s field goal before halftime? You decided to challenge it even though it wasn’t reviewable. Can you talk about your thoughts on that?

KIRK FERENTZ: The only reason I pursued it a little bit, Jay Higgins swore it was not any good, and he had a better seat than I did certainly. You can’t see anything from the sideline.

Anyway, yeah, it was worth a shot, to no avail, like a lot of replays. Anyway, yeah. I think we actually got a replay, though. Wasn’t it on a fourth down or something, third down.

BETH GOETZ: I’m going to take the third question. Is that all right?

On behalf of the university I want to congratulate and thank you for the 200 wins. I know this milestone — you know, Coach isn’t big on the record books, and you heard him give credit to everybody, but it means a lot to all of us. How big of an impact when you think about those moments, 200 moments for all those student-athletes and all of us fans that have lived those with you.

I’m grateful I’ve gotten to get a few with you, and I know you have more to go. Congratulations.

KIRK FERENTZ: Appreciate it. Thank you.

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Washington panel set to consider Trump’s ballroom project in March

Published

1 day ago

February 13, 2026

Press Room

Washington panel set to consider Trump’s ballroom project in March

Trevor Hunnicutt
| Reuters

Washington – President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project may get a blessing from Washington planning authorities as soon as next month.

Trump razed the White House’s East Wing in October to make way for a $400 million, 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) addition that he says will be privately financed. The administration planned the neoclassical building’s ribbon-cutting for summer 2028 as part of the most extensive remaking of the U.S. capital’s landscape in decades.

The National Capital Planning Commission said it would consider “approval of preliminary and final site and building plans” on March 5, according to a tentative meeting agenda posted online.

The commission is one of two federal bodies, along with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, assigned a role in overseeing key D.C.-area building projects.

Neither group is expected to block or delay Trump’s plans. Trump picked several members of both groups, and his former personal lawyer Will Scharf chairs the National Capital Planning Commission.

But federal courts are scrutinizing the project. A judge last month expressed skepticism about whether the administration had authority to proceed with construction after a demolition that Congress didn’t approve.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in December, arguing that the project lacked the required approvals and environmental review.

In documents supporting its proposal and posted online by the commission, the Trump administration said it concluded that demolition of the East Wing was “the most effective solution to many longstanding issues affecting the White House” in light of the 120-year-old structure’s limitations, poor energy efficiency and limited accessibility for people with disabilities.

The White House’s disclosures were the most extensive description of the project to date, including illustrations by architect Shalom Baranes.

In those disclosures, the White House said the administration planned to incorporate some preserved items from the East Wing, such as its cornerstone and a pergola designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei.

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WA state discipline of teachers in many cases shielded from the public

Published

2 days ago

February 13, 2026

Press Room

WA state discipline of teachers in many cases shielded from the public

An InvestigateWest analysis of the state’s educator misconduct database shows gaps allowing teachers to escape scrutiny

Moe K. Clark
| InvestigateWest

In November 2024, a woman in her early 30s walked into her former high school in Vancouver, Washington, and reported to the principal that while she was a student, she was groomed for a sexual relationship by Shadbreon Gatson, a longtime English teacher at the school.

Police arrested Gatson, and news coverage inspired two other former students from Hudson’s Bay High School to come forward with similar allegations against Gatson.

Records showed that the educator’s inappropriate behavior was brought to school leaders’ attention at least four times in the last 15 years. One woman who came forward in 2024 was interviewed by school leaders a decade earlier, when she was a sophomore student. A school janitor found her and Gatson, who was partially undressed, alone in the band room with the lights off. Administrators didn’t properly investigate, according to a third-party investigation ordered by the school district. The sexual abuse continued.

Partly because the district failed to act for years, the educator avoided a criminal conviction — prosecutors dropped charges against him in January 2025 because the statute of limitations had passed. And because Gatson then resigned, he didn’t have to participate in the school district’s third-party investigation. He also voluntarily surrendered his teaching license, which means the public can’t see details of his case in Washington’s statewide teacher misconduct database. InvestigateWest could not reach him for comment.

An InvestigateWest analysis of 10 years’ worth of cases from the statewide database reveals how Gatson’s case is just one of many illustrating how teachers in Washington accused of sexual misconduct can escape accountability and public scrutiny, opening the door for them to find jobs elsewhere.

While the database, managed by the state’s K-12 education oversight agency, offers one of the only windows into the prevalence of educator sexual misconduct in Washington, it also shrouds some of the most troubling cases.

Washington is largely ahead of other states in tracking and publishing the names of teachers who have faced disciplinary action, but many gaps remain. When a member of the public goes to the website, the database doesn’t prominently show why a person’s teaching license was suspended or mandatorily revoked, making that information available only in the case files. And if a person voluntarily surrenders their license, as Gatson did, those case files aren’t accessible without filing a public records request, which can take months to fulfill.

One hundred and fifty-seven teachers, or nearly 45% of all teachers who appear in the database since 2015, voluntarily surrendered their licenses, shielding their files –– and misconduct –– from public view. In Seattle Public Schools, all but four of the 15 educators recorded in the database voluntarily surrendered their license.

“This is how they are being hidden in plain sight without anyone’s knowledge of their wrongdoing,” said Terri Miller, the board president of the National Center to Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct & Exploitation, which advocates for federal and state legislation to prevent and address sexual misconduct in schools.

“That is deliberate enabling of child predation in our schools,” Miller added.

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, which oversees the state’s misconduct database, declined interview requests from InvestigateWest.

In response to written questions, Katy Payne, a spokesperson for the state agency, said an educator is allowed to voluntarily surrender their license for any reason as long as they have not received a final order for revocation or been convicted of a felony crime. Once a teacher voluntarily surrenders their license, the state agency is not required under state law to open an investigation unless a formal complaint is received from a superintendent. A teacher can also reapply for their teaching license under some circumstances if they voluntarily surrender it, as long as they disclosed why they surrendered it in the first place.

When asked why the voluntary surrender case files are not included in the state’s public facing database, Payne said it is because the forms “do not meet web accessibility requirements,” but can be obtained through a public records request.

An analysis of the available case files, coupled with a review of media reports published over the last decade, shows that of the 349 teachers added to the state’s database for having their license revoked, suspended or voluntarily surrendered, 160 teachers –– or approximately 46% of all cases –– involve sexual misconduct.

And that’s likely an undercount. Many teachers who were found to have committed sexual misconduct weren’t categorized as such in OSPI’s internal database, according to InvestigateWest’s review of the files. For example, a substitute teacher at the Deer Park School District, Nathan White, lost his Washington teaching license because he was arrested in Utah for trying to meet with a 13-year-old girl for sex. His misconduct was not labeled as sexual misconduct on the back end of the state’s database but instead “character/fitness,” a broader category that can encompass sexual misconduct.

The database of misconduct and disciplinary action is reported each year to the governor-appointed Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board, which sets the rules dictating educator certifications and code of conduct issues.

“This database and the way they’re tracking it is insufficient to protect victims and protect kids,” said Ashton Dennis, a personal injury lawyer with the Washington Law Center who specializes in sexual abuse cases. “That is a glaring failure on behalf of the state to not record (these) things as sexual misconduct.”

Gaps in Washington’s teacher misconduct database

Each year, Washington’s K-12 education oversight agency receives complaints from superintendents across the state regarding potential professional misconduct issues like leaving students unattended, failing to report child abuse, sexually pursuing students, watching porn at school, using drugs, and lying on a job application.

Last year, the state received 143 complaints from superintendents, according to Payne, and issued formal discipline — suspensions, revocations and voluntary surrenders — against 35 educators. Fourteen of those educators voluntarily surrendered their licenses, making their disciplinary files not accessible in the public database.

The database only includes school district employees who have a teaching license, meaning it excludes others such as coaches, bus drivers or support staff.

For example, Dennis helped represent around a dozen former students who were sexually abused by a wrestling coach, David O’Connor, in the University Place School District located in the Puget Sound. The school district has paid out nearly $14 million on behalf of victims so far through settlement agreements. Since the wrestling coach did not have a teaching certificate and does not appear in the state’s database, it is less likely that members of the public or future employers would know about the alleged misconduct.

There are also long-standing gaps in how states communicate with each other about disciplined teachers. The disciplinary files sometimes don’t follow them to another state, or there’s a lag.

Washington’s education oversight agency uses a national database, the NASDTEC Educator Identification Clearinghouse, to screen potential candidates, but if other states fail to report an action taken against a teacher, or if there are delays, they might unknowingly hire a teacher with serious misconduct on their record.

In February 2020, school administrators at the Toppenish School District in Eastern Washington received a job application from Alexander Lacey, who was applying to be a school psychologist. He was qualified for the position, having held the same role for numerous years in California.

On his job application, as well as on his forms to apply for a Washington teaching license, he wrote that he had never been reprimanded or investigated by a prior employer regarding misconduct or resigned from a position in the middle of an investigation. Neither was true.

Records show that he had resigned from his previous position in California three months earlier, after a student told the school district that Lacey had groomed and pursued a sexual relationship with her during her senior year in 2018. The student had survived a suicide attempt that year, and as the school psychologist, Lacey had been assigned to look after her well-being, records show.

In April 2021, following the California investigation, the state revoked his teaching license. But it took another two years before Washington took action. Records show that investigators with Washington’s oversight agency only reprimanded the educator for lying on his job application –– not for the previous sexual misconduct that occurred over state lines.

And instead of revoking his license as the California regulators did, his license was instead suspended for three months and was reinstated in September 2023. He now works for an international study abroad program, according to his LinkedIn.

Payne, with OSPI, said in an email that if a teacher is under investigation by state investigators or if disciplinary action is taken, a banner will appear when the school district searches the person’s name in the state’s internal database.

But since California hadn’t completed its investigation into Lacey by the time he applied to work in Washington, there likely wasn’t a flag on his application in the system. And even if there was, the alert doesn’t show what the actual issue was.

“If a school district is considering an applicant and their record contains a banner, the district could contact OSPI to request additional information, they could ask the candidate directly, and/or they could decide not to consider the candidate for the position,” Payne wrote. “School districts have the experience to know that disciplinary action is something to investigate further before making a job offer to a candidate.”

Payne said OSPI adds new information from the national database monthly.

State database: the tip of the iceberg

Washington’s statewide teacher misconduct database is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the prevalence of teacher sexual misconduct in K-12 schools. And Washington isn’t alone in failing to track or accurately quantify how often it happens. The U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Justice and child welfare agencies do not collect consistent data regarding employee sexual misconduct in K-12 schools.

Researchers estimate that one in every 10 students experiences some form of educator sexual misconduct by the time they graduate high school, with the average age a survivor discloses their experiences being 52 years old. Students may not come forward because they fear the perpetrator, they feel shame about what happened or they might not recognize the teacher’s behavior as abuse.

“Students aren’t taught what to look for in terms of boundary crossing, and they might instead think, ‘Oh, this is cool to be friends with the teacher,’” said Joel Levin, the co-founder and director of programs for the Seattle-based nonprofit Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. “It could be subtle at the beginning, but then sometimes it progresses from these sorts of subtle flirting things to physical contact.”

Levin founded his nonprofit in 2015 after his daughter was assaulted by a peer on a school field trip and his family struggled to hold Seattle Public Schools accountable. “The revictimization, institutional betrayal, this type of thing that we experienced firsthand –– we didn’t want other families to go through it like we did.”

Research shows that administrators and school leaders can often fail to recognize common grooming signs and report the behavior to law enforcement or other state oversight agencies meant to investigate claims of sexual misconduct. Inadequate district investigations and union negotiations can also keep misconduct from being reported.

When a teacher is allowed to quietly resign from their position during an investigation, they can avoid formal discipline that could ultimately prohibit them from being hired elsewhere. In these instances, a teacher is often allowed to leave without a “termination for cause” on their employment record and a school district can avoid a lengthy –– and at times expensive –– firing process. The practice, which makes it difficult to quantify the prevalence of teacher sexual abuse, is known to researchers and investigators as “passing the trash.”

“There are so many things that are wrong with this practice of passing the trash that does even more detrimental harm to victims,” said Miller, with the National Center to Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct & Exploitation.

“Oftentimes, (victims) say the abuse was bad enough, but knowing there were people that knew, knowing there were people that could have stepped in and intervened and helped at the time, that betrayal is sometimes a harder pill to swallow for them,” she added.

A separation agreement is what allowed a Mercer Island High School English teacher to quietly resign from the district despite misconduct concerns.

Eric Ayrault, who taught in the Mercer Island High School’s English Department from 1997 until 2019, was under investigation in 2018 for misconduct related to “maintaining professional staff/student boundaries” before his resignation, school records show.

The investigation was initiated in part after three students shared a GoogleDoc with the principal that documented over a dozen alleged instances of inappropriate behavior over the course of a semester.

In his separation agreement, Erin Battersby, the head of legal for the Mercer Island School District, wrote that the three week investigation into the allegations had concluded “without a finding.” He resigned the same day without facing any formal discipline and went on to teach at seven schools in Colorado and California, according to his LinkedIn.

Battersby, who is in charge of investigating reports of teacher misconduct within the Mercer Island School District, declined numerous interview requests.

School records show that Ayrault had been under investigation the year prior after a fellow teacher reported to the administration that she had overheard students complaining that he was “creepy” and made them feel uncomfortable.

The investigative report obtained by InvestigateWest showed the educator was found to have violated three separate school policies, including “Maintaining Professional Staff/Student Boundaries” and sexual harassment. He was required to enter a no-contact agreement with one of the students, which included a safety plan for the student. But the discipline was nominal. He received a written reprimand and was required to take additional training. His conduct was not reported to the state, and he was allowed to continue teaching.

“Reports to OSPI are the responsibility of the superintendent and in this instance, we do not know why the superintendent at the time did not make a report,” Ian Henry, the spokesperson for the Mercer Island School District, wrote in an email to InvestigateWest. “Unfortunately, we can’t speak to the actions of a former superintendent.”

Ayrault’s misconduct was finally reported to Washington’s oversight agency in October 2025 by the current superintendent, after InvestigateWest published reports regarding two other longtime English teachers at the school who had engaged in inappropriate relationships with students. But as of Jan. 26, 2025, Ayrault does not appear in OSPI’s misconduct database.

The first teacher, Gary “Chris” Twombley, was quietly put on paid administrative leave in 2023 and later resigned and voluntarily surrendered his teaching license, according to a settlement agreement between the school district and the teachers’ union.

The second teacher, Curtis Johnston, abruptly announced his retirement a few days after InvestigateWest and the Mercer Island Reporter published an investigation into Twombley. It was later revealed, after a victim came forward, that the school district had been made aware that Johnston was engaging in a sexual relationship with a student in 2011 but that administrators failed to properly investigate.

Current administrators with the school district launched an investigation into Johnston following InvestigateWest’s reporting, but closed it less than two months later after being “unable to make any findings.”

Dennis, the attorney with the Washington Law Center law firm, said he often sees school districts blaming the teachers’ union for not allowing them to fire a teacher who displayed problematic behavior.

Unions are legally required to provide fair, impartial and good faith representation to all members following a landmark 1944 Supreme Court ruling. But Dennis sees school districts using the union as a scapegoat more often than not.

“If there’s children’s safety involved, that is not an acceptable excuse,” he said.

The Washington Education Association, the state’s teachers union, declined interview requests for this story.

Dennis said when school districts allow a teacher to quietly resign from their position without formal discipline, they are often thinking about cost savings, not student safety.

“They may not want to frame it that way, but at the end of the day, that’s what they’re doing. And it’s a conscious decision that they’re making. Saying, ‘Hey, do we want to fight this? It’s going to cost us X, Y and Z, or do we just move on?’ Meanwhile, kids are being harmed.”

“It makes my blood boil,” he added.

Miller, who advocates against educator sexual abuse nationwide, stressed that there are state and federal laws on the books that prohibit school districts from allowing teachers to avoid accountability and swiftly move on to different jobs.

While federal law doesn’t outright ban the use of settlement or confidentiality agreements, it does discourage school districts from using them in cases of sexual misconduct, and it mandates that states enact policies or regulations to prohibit such agreements.

“But there’s not enough teeth in it,” Miller said.

She was surprised to learn these agreements were still being negotiated in Washington, considering it was one of the pioneering states to pass model legislation banning them more than 20 years ago.

“If this is still happening, well, maybe Washington needs to ramp up their penalties,” Miller said. “Because they are deliberately endangering children and students, and they are deliberately setting up other districts for liability when those people offend again.”

The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center offers free and confidential support and information 24 hours a day for survivors, family and others assisting survivors at 1-888-998-6423.

Moe K. Clark is a collaborative investigative reporter at InvestigateWest, covering Washington’s criminal justice system and other topics. Her work is supported by the Murrow News Fellowship, a state-funded journalism initiative managed by Washington State University.

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Washington County seizes nearly 11 pounds of meth, two guns in major bust

Published

2 days ago

February 12, 2026

Press Room

Washington County seizes nearly 11 pounds of meth, two guns in major bust

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The nearly 11 pounds of meth and the two guns seized in Washington County. Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. (Supplied)

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) – A significant drug bust in Inver Grove Heights has led to the arrest of a local man and the seizure of methamphetamine and firearms.

Washington County Drug Task Force operation

What we know:

Danny Gene Zaccardi, 62, was arrested and charged with first-degree sale and possession of a controlled substance. The arrest followed a search warrant execution on Feb. 3 at a residence in Inver Grove Heights.

Investigators found nearly 11 pounds of methamphetamine and two firearms during the search.

The meth was discovered in various locations in a downstairs bedroom, while additional meth and the firearms were hidden behind a basement couch.

The backstory:

The Washington County Drug Task Force, a multi-agency partnership, led the investigation. This task force is supported by the North Central High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which aids in disrupting drug trafficking operations.

The task force’s efforts highlight their commitment to keeping dangerous narcotics out of local communities. The seized firearms included a Sig Sauer P365 9mm handgun and a Sig Sauer P232 380 Kurz handgun.

Crime and Public SafetyInver Grove Heights

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