A former McNary High School choir teacher who was accused of grooming and abusing two former students will receive $30,000 to resign from his job at the end of the year. Joshua Rist has been on paid administrative leave from the Salem-Keizer School District since Oct. 2, 2023. Last September, two former McNary students sued Rist and the district in Marion County Circuit Court accusing him of grooming them for abuse, flattering them and earning their trust before steering their conversations toward sexual and personal topics. The conduct lasted until the second woman graduated in 2020. A third former student came forward with similar allegations after the lawsuit was filed, prompting a new district investigation. Rist signed the resignation agreement Dec. 13. The district provided a copy to Salem Reporter on Monday in response to a public records request. Rist’s attorney, Lowell McKelvey, said Monday he would not be able to comment on the agreement before Salem Reporter’s deadline. Rist did not respond to an email seeking comment. The district in November settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay each of the two women $200,000, while acknowledging no wrongdoing. Rist was not a party to that settlement. As part of the settlement, a judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the women can’t refile the lawsuit. Rist taught at McNary from 2016 to 2022. In August 2022, after allegations against him surfaced, then-Superintendent Christy Perry moved him to Kalapuya Elementary School to teach music, believing a more experienced principal would be better able to supervise him. Rist admitted to having “inappropriate interactions” with two female students in a June 2023 order from the state Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. His teaching license was suspended for 60 days. Superintendent Andrea Castañeda placed him on paid administrative leave from the Kalapuya job last fall after more than a dozen parents requested their children be moved out of his class. At the time, Castañeda said she didn’t believe Rist should be allowed to teach students anywhere, and promised in a public statement that she would do everything in her power to keep him out of the classroom. Under the resignation agreement, Rist will remain on paid administrative leave through the end of December, earning his regular salary of $81,002. He admitted no wrongdoing or violations of law by signing the agreement. He will be paid $30,000 in January. The payment will be treated as wages, meaning the school district will have to pay retirement contributions, payroll taxes and other regular deductions on the amount. The district also agreed to delete from its website and social media accounts a video statement Castañeda made last October after another McNary graduate came forward with a complaint about Rist’s behavior. The video was deleted from the district website Dec. 20, spokesman Aaron Harada said. Rist will not be able to seek re-employment with the district under the agreement. The district agreed not to contest any unemployment claims from Rist, and to say he resigned in lieu of termination if contacted by the state Employment Department. The resignation agreement says the district’s human resources director will only confirm Rist’s dates of employment, positions held and his resignation date in response to inquiries from potential employers who do not serve children. The agreement has no restrictions on what the district can say to school employers or other entities serving children or vulnerable populations. Harada said he did not have information immediately available about the last time the district had paid an employee beyond their regular salary in exchange for a resignation.  A resignation agreement reached earlier this year with a North Salem High School teacher accused of sexual abuse included no payment. The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission opened a new investigation into Rist last fall. That investigation remains open, said Melissa Goff, the commission’s executive director. Rist continues to have an active teacher license in Oregon. “It is within a school district’s purview to decide if they wish to employ an individual who has previously had their license suspended and is currently under investigation by TSPC,” Goff said in an email. Previous coverage: Salem-Keizer School District settles lawsuit over alleged McNary choir teacher abuse for $400,000 New complaint of ‘inappropriate conduct’ emerges against former McNary choir teacher Superintendent moves accused music teacher out of classroom Former McNary students sue choir teacher, alleging grooming, abuse Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. 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