Another former teacher at Mercer Island High faces accusations of sexual misconduct

For the second time in six months, the Mercer Island School District is responding to an allegation that it mishandled a sexual misconduct case involving a teacher. Investigate West reporter Moe K. Clark wrote both stories. She told KUOW’s Rob Wood about her reporting.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Rob Wood: Take us through this most recent allegation, starting with the concerns about what was going on between this teacher and a student.

Moe K. Clark: This was back in 2011. There were rumors going around during the spring semester of that year that now former English teacher Curtis Johnston had been in a sexual relationship with a senior student. I'd heard this rumor a few times while I was reporting about a different teacher in a story that came out in August.

The two had met on an international school trip. She had never had him as a teacher, but following that trip, they quickly became close. According to the former student, they became intimate soon after that trip, and their relationship continued through her senior year of high school and then through her freshman year of college.

The district held a meeting about this in August of 2011. What was the purpose of that, and who was there?

The same rumors that I heard recently had been swirling around the community that year, because Johnston had been seen leaving prom with the student, and a few students were concerned. They talked to a church counselor, a report had been made to the school, and the principal at the time, John Harrison, interviewed Curtis Johnston and also the student’s mom.

A district personnel meeting was called in August of that year. The folks that were present included Johnston, two members of the HR department, and then he had a union representative with him. This was from the first documents that I received through a public records request to the school district regarding Johnston. What really stood out to me when I was reading through these documents is that the purpose of the meeting was to protect Curtis and the district.

What did Johnston have to say about this matter back then?

According to the school records, which are just a summary of those meetings, he pretty consistently brushed off any concerns that there was an inappropriate relationship going on. He assured the principal that he was a family friend of this student, that he was acting as a father figure to the teenager. He reiterated those points a few times.

When I spoke to the former student and her mom, they shared that he wasn't a family friend. They had only known each other, I think, less than six months when that interview happened. They were very disturbed that he was calling himself a father figure, because this all happened in the wake of the student losing her actual father.

You wrote that the district took his word on all that. What happened next?

It was determined that it was just a rumor. He was formally disciplined for a handful of things and told to brush up on the school's policies regarding professional boundaries. He was also told to not give medication to students because he had given medication to the student at one point. He was told not to drive in a car with her or other students. But nothing else happened after that, and he went on to teach for another 14 years.

Have you spoken to Johnston about your reporting?

I have not. I was not able to get a hold of him. I sent him Facebook and LinkedIn messages. I called his current cellphone and his home phone number. I did not receive a response from him.

RELATED: Investigation into Mercer Island teacher’s resignation finds history of alleged abuse

The student spoke to you on condition of anonymity. What prompted her to come forward, and what does she want to happen now?

I connected with this former student after my first story about former Mercer High teacher Gary “Chris” Twombly came out in August. I had heard the rumors about this other teacher, Johnston, leaving prom with a student, and I had spoken to a few former students who didn't want to be a part of the story, but provided critical information to me. One of them shared this former student's name. I reached out to her, and we went from there.

I think what prompted her to want to speak out about this for the first time publicly was she saw that Johnston had announced his retirement a few days after the first story about Twombly had come out. She shared with me that that was really alarming. She wanted people to know that he had done this, and if there were more victims, she wanted them to know that they're not alone and that they could come forward too.

She shared with me she hopes that the school district takes concerns like this a lot more seriously. She didn't know that there had been an investigation into him in August 2011. They were still “dating” at that point. I say dating in quotes. He had never mentioned it. She didn't even know that there was an investigation into him until I put in the request for those records.

You broke this story yesterday. How has the Mercer Island School District responded?

They put out a statement last night outlining what their actions are going to be. They have opened an investigation into Johnston and the alleged misconduct. They are convening a new committee they hope reviews policies and procedures and the training they have for teachers and staff and students.

They've also put a different teacher on paid administrative leave as of yesterday, not for any allegations of sexual misconduct, but for potentially failing to report if he had known about the inappropriate relationship that Johnston had been in. They shared an office and co-taught a lot of classes. So, they're just moving forward with this new committee to try to reflect on what went wrong and how they can do things better in the future.

And what are you hearing from the Mercer Island School community, parents, and teachers?

Honestly, I haven't been able to talk to too many people since yesterday, but I did attend the school board meeting last night. A few community members spoke, sharing that they were appalled and really shocked that there was another instance of sexual misconduct at the school. It's certainly been a big topic of discussion on social media around the island. I think there's a lot of shock, and folks trying to digest the new information that came out yesterday.

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. You can reach them at 1-888-998-6423.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.