The impetus behind Brian Davis’ abrupt resignation as a teacher and coach of the Tahoma basketball team apparently stemmed from allegations of inappropriate conversations and contact with a female student, according to emails and notes received from the Tahoma School District through a public records request.

Davis, a psychology and history teacher and boys basketball coach at Tahoma for two years, is being investigated by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for the allegations.

A 17-year-old female student she’d had with Davis in and outside of school, as well as on social media, the morning of Sept. 30. The teacher emailed Principal Terry Duty about the claims just before noon that same day. School administrators questioned Davis in an interview on Oct. 7 and placed him on paid administrative leave. Davis emailed a letter of resignation the night of Oct. 9, citing “family and personal obligations.” He officially resigned Oct. 10.

The student’s allegations included multiple in-person interactions with Davis that started in March or April of 2014 and lasted through the summer. Among the claims she told school administrators were that Davis, 34, gave her “prolonged” and “aggressive” hugs that involved caressing her back on upwards of a dozen occasions. She also alleged Davis told her he smoked marijuana in the Navy, stated that he is a “good kisser,” pulled back her sweater to see her shirt and twice put his hands on her thigh. The student also claimed Davis winked at her after hitting her on the butt with his keys or clipboard during a youth basketball tournament.

The inappropriate interactions continued on Twitter and Instragram. The two sent private direct messages to one another on Twitter, which Davis later deleted. Davis told administrators that he deletes all messages to “declutter” his life.

The student also brought administrators screen shots of some online interactions. She said Davis commented on an Instragram picture of her in a bathing suit, also sending one of himself. She claimed he told her on multiple occasions he wanted to go hiking with her.

He used “winky face” and multiple “heart face” emoji’s in the following comments of the student in a bikini on a beach during vacation: “That’s a really good picture. Yeah the ocean is really blue. I’m not talking about the water.” He admitted to at least a few of the comments and called them an “error in judgment.”

“That’s not something I should do,” he said, according to the interview notes. “It’s not something I’m going to do ever again. I’m better than that and I made a mistake.”

Davis denied touching the student’s butt and the other flirtatious in-person allegations, including that he only ever gave “side-hugs.” There were no claims of any sexual contact, text messaging or emailing.

On Oct. 20, Superintendent Rob Morrow wrote the OSPI that Davis “may not meet the standards of good moral character or fitness to hold a professional educational certificate and/or has violated the code of professional conduct… by inappropriate communications with a female student.”

The OSPI has an open investigation regarding Davis and said it would not release records in order to protect the teacher’s right to privacy.

The OSPI determines whether a teacher’s certificate needs to be revoked and is independent from any criminal investigation, according to Kristen Jaudon, communications specialist with the organization. Jaudon said investigations can take up to two years and that it continues even if a teacher resigns or the license expires. She added that there are four possible outcomes to an investigation: dismissal, teacher reprimand, certificate suspension or certificate revocation.

This wasn’t the first claim against Davis of inappropriate contact with a student. The father of a female Tahoma student emailed Davis and Duty on Jan. 24, concerned about an alleged comment from Davis about how pretty his daughter’s eyes were. Davis apologized via email shortly after receiving the emailed concern, saying, “After I said it, I realized my mistake… I can assure you that my professionalism prior and moving forward is better than that.”

Tahoma School District Spokesman Kevin Patterson said this separate incident was taken into consideration when looking for patterns of behavior.

Davis could not be reached for comment, but told The Reporter in October that he resigned for “personal and family obligations.” The 1998 Kent-Meridian graduate had said he’d planned to renew his real estate license and was uncertain about his future as a basketball coach.

“We’ve got some family obligations that we need to tend to,” he said in October. “Something I kind of need to do.”

Patterson said the scope of discipline for Davis had not yet been fully decided when he resigned. However, he said administrators “took this very seriously. This was being responded to immediately.”

“Because of the evidence that was presented, it was clear that a pattern had been developed of inappropriate behavior,” he said. “Discipline plan could have led to dismissal.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

Davis said he was “friends” with students on Twitter and Instagram, but not other parts of his social media network – Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest. He told administrators that he started unfriending students over the summer.

Patterson said there is a place for social media interactions with students — be it for announcing school activities, team updates or class information — but there is a fine line.

“When it becomes personal, then you have to use caution,” Patterson said. “You just don’t want to go too far down that road.”

Patterson said Tahoma teachers receive training as to what interactions are permissible with students and what is not.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Patterson said. “… A lot of it is common sense. If a pattern develops of questionable behavior, that is where the school district comes into play and administration.”

DAVIS BACKGROUND

Davis joined the school district in 2012, taking over for then-coach Rob Morrow. Prior to his time at Tahoma, Davis spent two years as head coach at Kentwood.

Davis finished his two seasons as the Bears coach with a 65-35 record, including a league title and consecutive trips to the district playoffs. In May, Davis was selected to coach a team of all-star high school basketball players from around the country.

Tahoma hired Shawn Kilgallon last month as Davis’ replacement on the court.