Police confirm allegation against Kent School District employee

Kent Police confirmed that it received an allegation of inappropriate behavior against a Kent School District employee.

The case, however, was passed on to the Black Diamond Police Department for investigation, according to a May 3 email from Kent Police Assistant Chief Jarod Kasner.

“It may have occurred in their jurisdiction, so we have referred it to them to investigate it to make a confirmation of whether it did or did not,” Kasner said.

Kasner said he didn’t have details about the case and cannot speak to Black Diamond’s investigation.

The district employee reportedly worked at Cedar Valley Elementary School in Covington and Kent-Meridian High School, according to Facebook posts by parents who received emails from the district about the investigation. The email said a staff member “had an inappropriate interaction with a non-Kent School District minor.”

Black Diamond Police declined to answer any questions from the Kent Reporter about the case and instead turned an email into a public records request.

“The City of Black Diamond Police Department is providing you with notice it needs additional time to respond to your requests,” according to a department email. “The additional time is necessary to locate and assemble any documents the city may have that are responsive to your request. At this time, the city estimates it should be able to respond to this request on or before May 28.”

The school district responded on April 30 to a Kent Reporter email and confirmed that an elementary school staff member had been placed on administrative leave after allegations of inappropriate behavior.

“Per our policy, the staff member was immediately placed on administrative leave with no further access to our students,” said district spokesperson Melissa Laramie in an email. “Local law enforcement was notified, and we are cooperating fully in their investigation.

“Since the investigation is open and ongoing, we will not comment on the specifics of the incident or the investigation.”

Laramie declined to reveal the staff member’s job title, names of the schools where they worked or the date of the incident. She said the allegations were recently reported.

“Situations such as this, while rare, are sensitive in nature to all concerned,” Laramie said. “This is not one school’s story, a KSD (Kent School District) story, or even a Kent story. This is a community story, a society story, and it’s a sad story.”

Laramie said the district has reached out to families at schools where the staff member worked.

“Our first concern is for the well-being of those impacted by this event,” Laramie said. “Our district has notified families out of an abundance of caution where the staff member has worked during their entire work history in KSD because we care for our students, staff, and families and as part of our ongoing duty as mandated reporters.”