The Everett School Board on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a former Jackson High School science teacher who is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
Robert Vincent Beresford, who last month decided not to fight the criminal charges against him, officially resigned Jan. 30 “in lieu of termination.”
Beresford, 35, initially appealed the school district’s notice of probable cause to fire him, but decided to drop the appeal, Superintendent Carol Whitehead said.
“If we have any reason to believe we have to terminate someone and we can do it without paying an attorney and going through an appeal process, it’s always a relief,” Whitehead said.
A hearing was scheduled for March before an administrative law judge, but now that won’t happen.
“He is no longer our employee,” Whitehead said.
Beresford is scheduled for trial before Judge Kenneth Cowsert on April 5. He will not put up a defense and Cowsert will decide his case based on about 450 pages of police reports and witness statements.
Beresford was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor because of his status as a teacher. Both charges are felonies.
Prosecutors allege that Beresford and the 17-year-old girl had sex numerous times. He was removed from the classroom and put on administrative leave in October after the allegations came to the attention of district officials.
The allegations came to light when the girl’s mother overheard part of a telephone conversation in October.
Prosecutors say Beresford first met the girl when he was her teacher at Gateway Middle School. The two became better acquainted when she worked at Jackson High School in the summer doing clerical work.
On the last day of summer school, she helped Beresford move his classroom, and that’s when he first kissed her, prosecutors say. They kept in touch on the telephone and eventually engaged in a sexual relationship.
Beresford first came to the district in 1996, teaching at Gateway. He left to teach in the Edmonds School District in 1998 before returning to the Everett district in 2000.
Victor Balta is a reporter for The Herald in Everett.
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