To the Mercer Island Community

On August 11, 2025, MI Reporter published a story I was primarily responsible for bringing to light. I came forward because our kids weren’t safe, and school leadership chose to protect its reputation instead of protecting our children.

Some advised me to stay quiet to protect my candidacy and avoid retaliation against my family. I refused, because leaders lead, even when the cost is high. My priority has always been protecting children, not winning an election.

The Worst-Kept Secret

For years, one fact, not a rumor but a fact, circulated in our community: there was a teacher predator in our schools. This was widely known across the Mercer Island School District (MISD) administration, the School Board, the PTA, the Mercer Island Schools Foundation, Mercer Island Youth & Family Services, and the teachers union.

Still, no action followed. The playbook was always the same: protect the district’s brand, cite “victim privacy” to withhold information, and punish parents or educators who asked too many questions. Families who pushed were retaliated against or driven out of MISD entirely.

What I Discovered

Police reports confirmed what many suspected:

  • A teacher predator with at least two police complaints and two known victims spanning nearly a decade.

  • In 2016, despite having the victim’s and reporter’s names, school leadership refused to support a police investigation, and the case was dropped.

  • In January 2024, police submitted a prosecution request to the King County Prosecutor.

  • In April 2024, prosecutors invited MISD to join a multi-victim outreach and community notification; MISD routed participation through outside counsel, blocking both.

  • The teacher was allowed to resign—making it easier to get another job—and voluntarily surrendered (not revoked) his credential, meaning he can reapply in any state.

  • He was kept on 14 months of fully paid leave (~$162,000) before resigning with a clean record.

  • He now works with Indigenous youth and collects a lifetime state pension (~$68,600/year), 20% funded by Mercer Island taxpayers.

  • Fred Rundle’s statement to the Mercer Island community claiming there was only one victim was a lie. A police report now shows that, as interim superintendent in 2016, Rundle knew about a second victim and actively covered it up. The district’s response at the time was reportedly so hostile that it scared the person into silence. Rundle didn’t contact police about the incident until 2023, only after Twombley’s first victim came forward.

Not the Only One

With the reporting from MI Reporter, it’s now confirmed: a second Mercer Island teacher predator has come to light.

After years of silence around Chris Twombley, we’re now learning that another teacher, Curtis Johnston, resigned just days after the Twombley story went public and that PTA figures and candidates Julian Bradley, Stephanie Burnett, and Julie Hsieh were aware of Twombley’s misconduct long before the community was.

These same PTA leaders publicly defended how the district handled Twombley, and it now appears they also knew why Johnston suddenly resigned. That’s not transparency; that’s complicity.

Our schools are supposed to be safe. Instead, Mercer Island has become a place where predators are protected, and those who speak up are attacked. These PTA members, now running for school board and city council, do not reflect the integrity or protection our children deserve.

How Leadership Silences Critics

This isn’t just about what happened; it’s about what’s still happening.

Parents and teachers who raise concerns have been bullied, retaliated against, and even pushed off the island. On Nextdoor, local “leads” tied to school leadership control the main Mercer Island forums, deleting safety-related posts, locking threads, and suspending accounts. On Facebook, PTA responses attack parents who ask questions instead of answering them.

School leadership had an opportunity to take corrective action after the Twombley case, to conduct investigations and implement real change. Instead, they focused their energy on attacking the messengers who worked tirelessly to stop the predators.

For example, due to ongoing threats, online harassment, defamation, and cyberstalking, I was forced to seek a restraining order. The judge found the threat to my family’s safety so severe that he ordered my opponent to stay at least 1,000 feet away from my family, our home, my workplace, and Islander Middle School, and directed the Mercer Island Police Department to remove all weapons from his possession.

Emails show the PTA Council President, my opponent for School Board District #2, has known about this for nearly two years and did nothing to protect our children, knowing full well about two reported predators. He should withdraw from the race.

The Call to Action

As a father, I cannot imagine standing by while children are hurt. Yet our school leaders, many of whom have kids in these schools, did exactly that. They have failed the most important value they claim to uphold: “Ensuring our school communities are safe and supportive.”

Together, we can make Mercer Island schools safe, honest, and accountable.