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Rashaad Powell has been discharged by the Renton School District effective Oct. 21.
The discharge, confirmed during the Oct. 21 Renton School Board meeting, comes over six months after Powell was initially placed on administrative leave in April from his Renton High School assistant principal job and his duties as the boys basketball coach.
Powell’s placement on leave followed an investigation into messages between Powell and mothers of two Renton students. The messages in the investigation were described as sexual and Powell changed his story about the incidents multiple times, according to the investigation obtained by the Renton Reporter through a public records request.
Powell denies the messages were unwanted and has claimed multiple times that he violated no district policy, despite the investigation indicating a look into four possible violations.
Powell has been seen as a figurehead of Renton High School. A standout player at the school, he went on to play professionally in Europe before coming back home to Renton to be an assistant under Rick Comer. Powell took over as head coach in 2018 and became an assistant principal in 2023.
Powell initially appealed the decision to the district. That took place from Oct. 6-8 and the “hearing officer determined that the district had sufficient cause to discharge Mr. Powell,” Renton School District spokesperson Randy Matheson said in an email to the Reporter.
Matheson said Powell has the opportunity to appeal the discharge decision as stated in Washington state law. The district has not yet been notified whether Powell plans to appeal this decision.
“As of now, we’ve not been notified of further appeals. Under Washington state law (RCW 28A.405.320), a certificated school employee is granted one initial statutory appeal to the county superior court from an adverse school board decision or nonrenewal order,” Matheson said in another email to the Reporter.
Powell has been active recently on Facebook since the conclusion of his hearing.
“As many of you know or have heard (and if you did not, you are about to), I was placed on an administrative leave in April 2026 by the Renton School District.
“I have abstained from public comment regarding this and how it has been handled due to an appeal hearing pending that has now concluded. There is a lot of misinformation that I had to endure and have not been able to publicly correct or address that I will be doing. The narrative pushed stems from a biased and one-sided investigation, backed by zero evidence, created from a situation that should not have been a situation. In an effort to best as possible provide “the other side,” I will provide evidence of everything that I am stating over the coming days.
“This has been a challenging time both personally and professionally. I put myself in a position for this to potentially be happening and for that, can only blame myself. This realization does not remove the fact that there has still be an extreme miscarriage of justice that I will continue to appeal.
“My choices, while not illegal or against district policy, put me in position to embarrass and negatively impact my family and myself professionally. I will be forever disappointed in myself for that, as they do not deserve that. I will attempt to put the pieces of my life together and move forward mayne…,” Powell said in a post.
The Reporter emailed Tyler Firkins, Powell’s lawyer, according to a Seattle Times report, for comment about the discharge and whether Powell plans to appeal to King County Superior Court, but has not heard back.
