LA CONNER — A teacher at La Conner High School has signed an agreement to leave the district in exchange for one year’s salary.

The agreement between former science teacher Jennifer McFarland and the La Conner School District is the conclusion of an investigation by the district alleging an “inappropriate relationship” between McFarland, 43, and a high school student who has since graduated.

McFarland, a 2001 candidate for Arizona Education Foundation teacher of the year, said the accusations were “completely false.”

The district began investigating a possible relationship between McFarland and the student in November 2007 after one of the student’s parents found a text message from McFarland on the student’s phone, according to an investigation by the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s investigation was called off by the student’s family in late February, and no charges were filed. One of the student’s parents works for the school district, Superintendent Tim Bruce said last week. In February, McFarland was removed from the classroom and placed on paid administrative leave.

Bruce said there was no sexual contact between McFarland and the student.

The La Conner School District’s lawyer, Bill Coats, said there was excessive text messaging between McFarland and the student. He said McFarland also favored the student in “non-class time.”

However, Coats said text messaging was often a way for students, coaches and teachers to organize practices and homework schedules.

A letter to McFarland dated April 11 says she spent an excessive amount of time with the student, which could also be considered “grooming behavior.”

“It’s a question of boundaries,” Coats said.

In November 2007, La Conner High School Principal Marsha Hanson e-mailed McFarland and said she had warned McFarland to not text message the student, but McFarland had said the message was to make sure he was icing his leg after practice.

“I advised you that text messaging is not a wise thing for you to do,” Hanson said in the e-mail dated Nov. 28, 2007.

The school district does not have a policy regarding text messages between teachers and students.

A press release Tuesday from the district says the settlement “avoids the cost and uncertainty of litigation and allows the individuals involved in this matter and the District to move forward in a positive manner.”

McFarland boils it down to “irreconcilable differences.” She said she could have pressed the issue to arbitration instead of a settlement. The settlement awards McFarland approximately $55,000, the cost of one year’s salary.

“My lawyer and I are completely confident that we would have won the case,” she said. “Winning the case would’ve meant I would be back in the classroom in the community.”

However, she said she it “wasn’t safe” for her to return to the school.

McFarland, who has been teaching since 1988 and earned dozens of honors for her work as a science teacher, said she’s not sure what she will do now. Her three children attend school in the La Conner School District.

“I was just reflecting and trying to decide,” she said. “The settlement gives me some time to do that.”

Officials from districts where McFarland previously worked said there had never been problems with the teacher, who has also been a cross-country or track coach since 1988.

Tony Cullen, principal at Flagstaff High School in Arizona, called McFarland a model employee.

“She was a great teacher here,” he said. “She had many awards as a teacher.”

McFarland was also a mentor to a finalist competing in the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search. Only 40 students nationwide are selected for the competition out of thousands who apply.

A letter of recommendation sent on McFarland’s behalf by Superintendent Beverly Hurley of the Buckeye Union School District in Arizona outlined McFarland’s qualities as “one of the best” teachers Hurley had ever worked with. She developed partnerships between the local observatory and the school, and “contributed to students having unique, quality scientific field experiences throughout the world,” Hurley’s letter states.

Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at kmartin @skagitvalleyherald.com.