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LYNNWOOD — Parents, former faculty and special-education advocates on Tuesday pressed the Edmonds School District Board of Directors during public comment to commission a fully independent third-party investigation into the district’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a former Meadowdale Elementary special-education instructor David Sibley, publicly release its current investigative report in full, place Superintendent Rebecca Miner on leave, and reject a proposed reassignment for the school’s former principal.

“I know firsthand that parents have not been told that their children are victims of what David Sibley did,” Wendy Masterson, a former Edmonds School District (ESD) paraeducator, told the Lynnwood Times. “My bottom line, if anything could happen, and I could have a wish granted right now, it would be that the parents of these children would be told and that these kids, regardless of how they feel right now… get whatever help they will need in the future. I want the district held responsible. I want Dan Davis held responsible.”

Masterson along with other residents are leading the Change.org petition effort,” Restoring Trust: An Urgent Case for ESD to Put the Safety of Students and Families First,” to demand three actions from the Board:

1. Place Rebecca Miner on leave and hire an interim school superintendent who has a track record of successfully implementing changes including the culture of an organization, because of the multiple and systemic failures that occurred under her watch and doubt that she would facilitate a proper investigation or implement recommended changes fostering accountability, transparency and responsibility.
2. Commission an independent third-party investigation by a firm with demonstrated expertise investigating workplace misconduct at public schools and child sexual abuse, with no affiliation to the ESD, the School Board, district staff, or the district’s insurance provider or attorneys. The report should identify any failures in sexual misconduct notification and investigation protocols, the individuals responsible, and any systematic issues, and include recommendations for disciplinary actions and actionable improvements.
3. Release the report to the public and issue a public report every six months describing in detail progress implementing each recommendation.

Kelly Haller, Elizabeth Waring and Chelsea Rudd each read portions of the petition to completion. They read an overview of accounts from 2022 through 2024 of multiple staff members and parents at Meadowdale Elementary who reported instances of alleged sexual misconduct by Sibley directed at both staff and special education students.

The petition asserted that the School District did not notify parents of the children affected, even though required by Washington law, and did not report the alleged sexual misconduct to law enforcement and CPS within the required timeframe.

RCW 28.A.320.160 requires Washington school districts to immediately notify parents or legal guardians if their child is alleged to be the victim, target, or recipient of physical abuse, sexual misconduct, or assault by a school employee or contractor.

It further stated a parent of a victim wrote a plea to Miner in 2024 including additional detailed allegations, with no record that the information being reported.

Sibley was hired by the district in 2022, was then placed on leave in August 2024 when allegation involving at least 11 special education students aged six to 12 and a former instructor surfaced. He officially resigned in August 2026, following a resignation negotiation that began in January and has been paid at least $470,000 since going on leave. He was investigated by the school’s Human Resources Department and the Lynnwood Police Department launched an investigation of its own beginning on May 2, 2024, after a former Student Intervention Coordinator at Meadowdale Elementary School reported concerns about Sibley’s conduct and concluded probable cause existed for two misdemeanor offenses.

Sibley was cited for one count of fourth-degree assault involving an adult employee and one count of fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation involving a child.

In early July 2026, the Snohomish County prosecuting attorney’s office declined to charge Sibley of a single count of Rape of a Child in the First-Degree writing “we determined that there is insufficient admissible evidence to prove that a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Prosecuting Attorney Jason Cummings shared with Jason Moore of “We the People” during the Edmonds Breakfast Club meeting that his office reviewed the case, including the police investigation, and spoke with victims and witnesses.

“We have a burden to review these cases as they come forward,” Cummings said. “Is there sufficient evidence to prove that the crime has been committed? Our review of that case, there was not sufficient evidence that we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed. The school district was free to conduct whatever investigation it wanted….That’s employment law between the school district and that teacher.”

Cummings shared that there is a fine line between “creepy” behavior and criminal conduct, and that the hardest part in such cases is when there may be lots of smoke but insufficient evidence to prove fire beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime. He added that his office takes allegations of sexual misconduct seriously by interviewing victims and witnesses and has an “ethical obligation” to pursue but can’t file cases because “we think maybe something happened” only if there is “beyond reason of the crime.”

Sylvia Ferreira, writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Edmonds School District Special Education PTSA, shared that its members were horrified to read recent media coverage of abuse allegations against staff members who work with special education students.

“The common denominator in these stories is that special education students, who are statistically more vulnerable to abuse, are not being properly protected in our district,” Ferreira said. “As parents of children with disabilities, and advocates for families with disabled students across the district, we are extremely concerned by the lack of action, urgency, and transparency that the district has demonstrated in response to these two cases.”

Speakers also demanded that the Board not approve a reassignment of Meadowdale Elementary principal Dan Davis.

Masterson told the Lynnwood Times that Davis’s principal contract expired June 30 and that the board was being asked to approve a newly created principal-on-special-assignment position supporting capital projects at approximately $200,000 salary. She described it as created “out of thin air” on a “gentleman’s handshake.”

“You don’t get a reward when you can’t do your own job,” she said.

In an emailed statement to the Lynnwood Times, district spokesperson Curtis Campbell stated that, “Mr. Davis is supporting our capital projects team with planning and logistics relating to school construction and the pending grade band shift to 6th, 7th and 8th grade middle schools. Staff assignments are personnel matters, so we have no further comment.”

Masterson is skeptical as to why the position was not posted, why current facilities personnel could not perform the work, and noted that the salary could have funded two professional-development days for approximately 500 para-educators under the current collective bargaining agreement.

Campbell also confirmed to the Lynnwood Times that Whitney Meissner “will continue to be the interim principal at Meadowdale Elementary. She began in the spring when Dan stepped down from his position as principal.”

Immediately after public comment, during the consent agenda portion, Board President Nancy Katims explained that while the board usually does not discuss individual personnel matters publicly, state law strictly limits what the district can do with an experienced principal, specifically someone with three or more years in the role.

“It is important for everyone to know that there are state laws which govern a district’s ability to transfer a school principal to a subordinate position or terminate their employment if they have had three years of experience as a principal,” Katims said. “I’m going to name two of the state laws, the RCWs, and I’ll say them slowly for anybody who would like to look these up to understand the limitations that are put on the school district. One is RCW 28A.405.230. The other one is RCW 28A.405.210.”

Davis has served as an elementary principal in the Edmonds School District from at least 2020 through early 2025, giving him more than three years of experience as a principal at Meadowdale Elementary. The statutes referenced by Katims therefore impose specific procedural requirements and limitations on the school district’s ability to transfer Davis to a subordinate position or non-renew his contract without following the notice, cause and hearing provisions.

The consent agenda, including the item approving Davis for a special assignment for one year, was approved unanimously by the Board.

Campbell did share with the Lynnwood Times that a third-party investigation has been conducted and that a request for a copy of that investigation can be fulfilled through a public records request https://edmonds.justfoia.com/publicportal/home/newrequest.