The Coronado Unified School District as part of a settlement could pay up to $168,512 to Shane Bavis, a high school assistant principal who agreed to resign after students were sent “inappropriate” material to their smartphones on May 24.
The school board on Sept. 6 approved a six-page “resignation and release agreement” with Bavis, according to documents released to The Coronado News under the state’s public records law.
Efforts by The Coronado News to reach Bavis and his attorney via cell phone and email correspondence were unsuccessful. However, the settlement says Bavis maintains “his complete innocence.”
The agreement allows Bavis to remain on paid administrative leave with benefits until June 30, 2024, and it calls for him to receive a $42,128 lump-sum payment equal to four months salary by Sept. 30. The lump-sum payment would indicate his annual salary is $126,384.
Police continue criminal investigation
Meanwhile, the Coronado Police Department continues to conduct a criminal investigation into the matter.
Records obtained by The Coronado News show the department had launched a “possible child pornography” investigation stemming from students receiving a “photo/image” of a district employee that came from an online dating app and was sent to numerous smartphones by students to other underaged peers.
Other records show the incident was a student-to-student transmission, but it’s unclear how the students obtained the photo/image of Bavis.
The pictures of a shirtless Bavis had the caption “Chill & Packing,” students and parents told the newspaper.
The settlement agreement states there was no admission of fault and/or liability by either party for any purpose.
And, it also said Bavis “has maintained his complete innocence.”
Police investigating sexual crimes
Records show police were investigating at least 34 possible crimes including sexual exploitation of a minor with “masturbation for the purpose of sexual stimulation for the viewer,” and sending or selling obscene matter depicting a minor.
The police blacked out the name of the suspect as well as other identifying information, such as the person’s address, height, weight, age range and home phone number from the May 24 report provided to The Coronado News.
That report also blacked out the name of the reporting party and witness to the incident.
Other records show police were investigating to determine if another person in the images was a minor, when the video was recorded and whether it was recorded with permission.
The other person in the video was not a Coronado High School student, records indicate.
Bavis was assistant principal since 2021
Bavis served as the assistant principal at Coronado High School beginning in the 2021 school year until the events that unfolded at the high school in late May.
He joined Coronado Unified after prior work in Orange County as an educator with more than 20 years of experience, according to media reports.
The board on Sept. 6 met for about a half hour in executive session before voting 4-0 to approve the settlement with Bavis.
Trustee Whitney Antrim was unable to join the special meeting and Board President Renee Cavanaugh and Vice President Scot Youngblood joined remotely.
Human Resources Director Donna Tripi and Bavis signed the agreement on Aug. 29, records show.
‘Respect his privacy’
Among the 27 agreements in the settlement was that Coronado High School Principal Karin Mellina would issue a staff email that said: “‘Mr. Bavis has decided not to return as Assistant Principal at Coronado High School. We thank him for his past service and ask that you respect his privacy as he moves on to the next chapter of his life.’”
“The agreement resolves a personnel matter that began on May 24, 2023,” the district said in a written statement. “Coronado High School currently has a fully staffed administrative team with the support of an interim assistant principal. The district will immediately begin the search for a permanent assistant principal.”
The district also said it will not comment on any ongoing law enforcement investigation.
Coronado Police Public Information Officer Lea Corbin said the agency’s investigation remains ongoing and there were no “updates at this time.”
District initially refused to disclose identity
Initially, the district refused to disclose that it was Bavis who had resigned.
Instead, the district blacked out his name in the original settlement given to The Coronado News, and a board member only referred to him as his employee identification number during the brief public meeting.
The district eventually released the name of Bavis following a request from Felix Tinkov, a California Public Records Act specialist and attorney for The Coronado News.
The district and city also initially denied the release of numerous public records to the newspaper this summer. But the government entities reversed course following legal demands from Tinkov.
