Two administrators volunteered to step away from their jobs as the Vancouver school district continues its investigation into sexual allegations against a teacher they supervised.
Valerie Seeley, Hudson’s Bay High School principal, and William Oman, the district’s executive director for middle schools, will be on leave while the district awaits the results of a third-party investigation. School board president Kathy Decker and Superintendent Jeff Snell delivered the news in a letter emailed to Hudson’s Bay staff, parents and students on Saturday.
According to court records, in June 2013, a Hudson’s Bay custodian told the school’s principal, Oman, and assistant principal, Seeley, that he interrupted English teacher Shadbreon Gatson and a 16-year-old female student engaging in sexual intercourse in a band room after hours.
Court records say the custodian’s report spurred an administrative investigation and was documented in a disciplinary letter in Gatson’s personnel file, along with other accusations of misconduct with female students between 2009 and 2017.
On Dec. 20, the Friday before winter break, Vancouver police arrested Gatson, 43, on suspicion of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, stemming from incidents alleged to have occurred in 2013.
According to court records, a former student, now 27, reported to Hudson’s Bay staff and Vancouver police in early December that she had been sexually victimized.
Gatson appeared on the allegation Dec. 23 in Clark County Superior Court, during which time the prosecution said it anticipated combining the case with more recent allegations against Gatson involving a student in 2024.
However, prosecutors dropped the case Dec. 26 due to the statute of limitations expiring. Gatson currently is not facing any criminal charges.
The Vancouver school board called an emergency executive session Friday. (Executive sessions are not open to the public or media.) The board reviewed the investigation of Gatson, Decker and Snell said in their letter.
“The (Vancouver Public Schools) school board is deeply saddened and angry about the allegations that have been brought forward,” the letter states. “We are especially concerned about the impact the recent news and information is having on you at this moment.”
The letter states that building administrators investigated the concerns in 2013 and notified the district’s human resources team. Then more information about the incident came from victims in November and December, according to the letter.
Gatson will remain on administrative leave as the investigation continues, and an interim principal will step into Seeley’s position at Hudson’s Bay on Monday, according to the letter.
Also Monday — the first day back after winter break — Hudson’s Bay students plan to stage a walkout because they feel the district should have taken action earlier.
District officials say they will continue to share information with police.
The district has contracted with a third-party investigator to look into allegations against Gatson, as well as “review previous investigations and internal processes regarding investigations of this nature,” Decker and Snell said in their letter.
They also said extra counseling support and safety staff will be at Hudson’s Bay on Monday.
“We are committed to listening to your concerns, and taking real and meaningful action — not just in regard to the investigation of Mr. Gatson, but also more broadly including, but not limited to, a review of any necessary improvement of our overall district protocols,” the letter states.
