Former Meadowdale principal gets new role after safety concerns

LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A former Meadowdale Elementary principal is getting a new one-year assignment with the Edmonds School District amid continued questions about how district leaders handled allegations involving a special education teacher.

The Edmonds School Board voted unanimously Aug. 18 to approve Dan Davis for a special assignment supporting the district’s capital projects work.

The district says Davis will help with planning and logistics related to school construction and the district’s transition to middle schools serving sixth through eighth grades.

The position has been reported as paying approximately $200,000 a year. Ginnie Berry, a former Meadowdale substitute teacher who raised concerns about the special education teacher, is now criticizing the board’s decision and renewing her calls for an independent investigation into how the district handled the allegations.

Berry says she raised concerns in 2023

Berry says she began working for the Edmonds School District as a substitute teacher in April 2022.

In August 2023, she says she was asked to fill in as Meadowdale’s student intervention coordinator while the employee in that position completed student teaching.

Berry says she started the position at the beginning of the 2023–24 school year.

She says she first became concerned about a special education teacher after an interaction in which he attempted to hug her.

A few weeks later, Berry says she was assigned to work with a six-year-old special education student who had difficulty transitioning into her classroom.

Berry says she began witnessing interactions between the girl and the teacher which concerned her.

Berry described what she says she personally witnessed:

"Mr. ___ would come down the hall, and he would say her name, and he would say, ‘Come, give me a hug.’ And she'd run to him because she knew him from kindergarten, special education student. She simply was a special education teacher. So she'd run to him, and he would, you know, she'd kind of melt into his side. And as he hugged her, he'd reach around and pull her into him so that her face was planted in his groin, and hold her there for several seconds. This happened every day, every day. Sometimes a couple times a day in the morning."

Berry said she witnessed the interaction multiple times.

"This is nothing I heard from someone else. I witnessed this probably at least 10 times."

Berry also described another interaction she says she witnessed involving kindergarten students.

She said the teacher would spread his legs, reach out his arms and tell students:

"Hey kids, come recharge my batteries."

Berry said she included those concerns, along with concerns about the classroom environment, in an email to then-Principal Dan Davis and Roger Jordan, who she said was overseeing certificated teachers in the district administration.

Berry says the district investigated

Berry says she expected the district to immediately investigate her concerns.

She says Jordan responded to her email the same day and asked to meet with her.

Berry says the meeting included Jordan, Davis, herself and another district employee.

She said she requested a union representative but was denied one.

According to Berry, Jordan told her the district would investigate.

Berry says she later learned that several staff members were interviewed, along with Sibley, but that children were not interviewed and parents were not initially notified.

She says the district ultimately determined there was no sexual misconduct.

Berry strongly disagreed with that conclusion.

She said the mother of the six-year-old later came to Davis' office after learning about the allegations.

According to Berry, Davis told the mother that the interaction may have looked inappropriate because of the difference in the child's height but had been determined not to be inappropriate.

A parent later contacted the school board

Berry says a parent contacted then-school board president Nancy Katims in January 2024 with detailed allegations involving her daughter.

Berry says she believes district officials received that information but did not respond appropriately.

She also says she contacted multiple outside agencies.

"I was a mandated reporter. I had to report it. I called CPS. I went to the police. I went to OSPI, and I went to the parents because I just couldn't keep silent anymore," said Berry.

The Edmonds School District has previously said it conducted a third-party investigation into the allegations. The district has not publicly released the report.

Berry is calling for another investigation that she says should be completely independent of the district and its insurance risk pool.

She said the investigation the district relied on was financed through the insurance group used by school districts.

Berry says she lost her position

Berry says that after she raised concerns about Sibley, she was no longer offered the student intervention coordinator position.

She said the principal had initially told her she was doing well and that the district wanted her to continue working in the position.

But after she raised concerns, Berry says someone else took the job.

"Because when I blew the whistle on Sibley, suddenly the principal, who had gone from telling me I was doing absolutely great with the kids, they wanted me to continue after the substitute job was over," said Berry. "They wanted me to continue in January. Everything was going great. Praise for the teachers, but then I blew the whistle on Sibley, and suddenly my job got taken by somebody else."

Berry says she believes she experienced retaliation for reporting her concerns.

Davis gets new assignment

Davis is no longer principal of Meadowdale Elementary.

The school now has an interim principal, while Davis has been assigned to work on capital projects.

The school board approved the new one-year assignment unanimously Aug. 18.

At that meeting, district officials pointed to Washington state law governing contracts and transfers for school administrators.

One of those laws, RCW 28A.405.210, generally requires school districts to notify certificated employees by May 15 if they do not intend to renew their contracts for the following school year.

RCW 28A.405.230 addresses the transfer of administrators to subordinate certificated positions.

The district told FOX 13 that a third-party investigation it referenced was not completed and delivered before the May 15 deadline.

Berry rejected that explanation.

"This has nothing to do with RCWs. This is breaking the law. Why would—why would you keep a person that broke the law?" said Berry.

Berry's statement is her allegation. The statutes cited by the district establish procedures for contract renewal and administrative transfers; they do not establish that Davis committed a crime.

Berry calls for Superintendent Miner to step down

Berry is also calling for Edmonds School District Superintendent Dr. Rebecca Miner to be placed on administrative leave while an independent investigation is conducted.

She helped write a petition making that request.

Berry said she believes the district's investigation was not sufficiently independent and wants a new investigation that is separate from district attorneys and the district's insurance group.

She said the petition also calls for the findings and recommendations to be shared with the community.

Berry attended the Aug. 18 school board meeting and spoke during public comment about Davis.

She said she did not believe the board listened to the concerns raised by parents and former staff.

"No. I think they stood up there and smiled their smile, and they voted Mr. Davis's contract. All of them, all of them [were] unanimous, so they didn't listen on that, and nothing's been done to Dr. Miner,"Berry said. "This is nothing personal about Dr. Miner. I like her and respect her, but not what she did."

She wants the board to bring in an interim superintendent to oversee changes within the district.

Additional allegations involving SPE-ED teacher

Berry also told FOX 13 the teacher also harassed her.

"Mr. ____ ran his fingers along my bra line as he left a meeting, and he hugged me several times, asked me out, along with other teachers, as well," said Berry.

Berry also said she believes other children may have been affected.

She referenced another student who came forward to police in August 2025 with an allegation of rape.

Berry said she believes the district's response to concerns involving students represents a broader problem.

"So this is a pattern in the district of not telling the parents, law enforcement, CPS, or OSPI, and they're required by law to tell all of those people," Berry said.

Prosecutors did not file criminal charges

The Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office reviewed the investigation conducted by the Lynnwood Police Department and did not file criminal charges against Sibley.

The prosecutor's office told FOX 13:

"It is our ethical obligation to refrain from filing charges when we believe the investigatory record fails to establish sufficient admissible evidence to prove that a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt. Such was the conclusion reached in this case following a detailed review of the investigation conducted by the Lynnwood Police Department."

The prosecutor's decision not to file charges does not independently resolve questions about the district's personnel decisions or its handling of internal reports.

What happens next?

Berry says she plans to continue pushing for an independent investigation.

She said she and others plan to contact the school board president again, contact police about their concerns regarding the district's response and continue asking community members to sign the petition.

She said she hopes the additional attention will lead to changes.

"I just hope that they change and do what they are—not just the right thing, but what they are legally bound to do," says Berry.

The Edmonds School District has not commented on the petition.

FOX 13 also asked the district whether Davis could receive another contract after his current one-year assignment ends. The district declined to comment, citing personnel matters.

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