Salem, OR – Joshua Rist, the former choir teacher at McNary High School, will receive a $30,000 payment as part of a resignation agreement with the Salem-Keizer School District, following accusations of grooming and abusing two former students. Rist has been on paid administrative leave since October 2023 after the allegations were made public.
The controversy began in September 2023 when two former McNary students filed a lawsuit against Rist and the district in Marion County Circuit Court. The lawsuit accused Rist of manipulating the students by gaining their trust and steering conversations toward inappropriate, sexual topics over the course of several years. The alleged misconduct continued until the second student graduated in 2020. A third student came forward with similar allegations after the lawsuit was filed, prompting a new investigation by the district.
In November 2023, the district settled the lawsuit with the two women, agreeing to pay each $200,000. The district, however, acknowledged no wrongdoing in the settlement, and Rist was not included as a defendant in the case. As part of the settlement, a judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the women cannot refile the case.
Rist, who taught at McNary from 2016 to 2022, was reassigned in August 2022 to Kalapuya Elementary School after the allegations first surfaced. The district moved him, believing that a more experienced principal could better supervise him. However, following further complaints and more than a dozen parents requesting their children be moved out of his class, Superintendent Andrea Castañeda placed him on administrative leave in October 2023.
Rist admitted to engaging in “inappropriate interactions” with two students in a June 2023 order from the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC), which resulted in a 60-day suspension of his teaching license. Despite this suspension, Rist’s teacher license remains active in Oregon.
Under the terms of his resignation agreement, Rist will remain on paid administrative leave through the end of December 2024, continuing to receive his regular salary of $81,002. In January, he will receive the $30,000 payment, which will be treated as wages and subject to regular payroll taxes and retirement contributions.
As part of the agreement, Rist will not be able to seek re-employment with the district, and the district has agreed to confirm only his employment dates and positions held to potential employers not working with children. The district also agreed to remove a video statement made by Superintendent Castañeda in October 2023 from its website and social media platforms, after another McNary graduate came forward with a complaint about Rist’s behavior.
The resignation agreement also stipulates that the district will not contest any unemployment claims from Rist. Although the district has provided no specific information on past resignation agreements involving payments, it is clear that this situation is an unusual and costly outcome for both Rist and the district.
The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission is continuing its investigation into Rist’s conduct, which remains open. The Commission’s executive director, Melissa Goff, emphasized that it is within the district’s discretion to determine whether to employ an individual who has had their license suspended and is under investigation.
Rist’s resignation marks the end of his tenure with the district, but his professional future remains uncertain as his teaching license is still active and under investigation.
