Former Pleasanton Principal Accused Of Flirting With Students On Grindr: Reports

PLEASANTON, CA — The Pleasanton Unified School District released hundreds of pages of records related to allegations that former Amador Valley High School Principal Jonathan Fey, who resigned in August 2024 just a few months into the school year, contacted a current and former student on the gay dating app Grindr. Fey has denied these allegations, stating that someone else posed as him on the app.

The records were obtained through a California Records Request filed by both Pleasanton Weekly and EdSource. According to a report from the Pleasanton Weekly Editorial Board, Fey filed a lawsuit to block the release of the redacted materials once the district moved to release them. The case was settled this month, and the records were released publicly. They contain 347 pages of redacted documents, emails, screenshots, and the results of an independent investigation completed by the Leal Law Group, APC.

In conversations screenshotted in the report, a Grindr user alleged to be Fey told a student who had graduated the year before that, “I really have always liked you. Didn’t you notice last year I would go out of my way to say hi or smile every time I saw you?”

The user also wrote, “Face it, ur good looking. You have a subtle fem side to you that is extremely appealing to me. I’m not sure why; but I felt like you had a confidence about yourself and who you were as a person.”

He then wrote, “I have to ask - is us going to be a possibility in your eyes?”

The student told investigators that after the conversation ended, the user deleted his account, but an account with the same eyes emoji as a username wrote, “Hey. I hope your first year in college was a good one.” The student wrote, “No cause how did you know that?” to which the user wrote “It’s me - just trying to be nice.”

The student then told investigators that Fey followed him on Instagram shortly after, which Fey confirmed, noting that he only follows students after he can verify that they’ve graduated.

Investigators say they believe it is “more likely than not” that Fey was the user, based on the timing of the Instagram follow, the user relaying information only Fey would know about a school trip, and Grindr’s location feature placing the account near Fey’s home address. Investigators also claimed that the user provided demographic information that matched Fey’s, including his age and marital status.

When the second complainant was still in high school, screenshots show that the same user wrote a number of texts, starting with:

“Btw, I know who you are. I hope that’s okay.”

He then congratulated the student on the “great win,” and wrote:

“For sure I need this to stay a secret. I mean; don’t get me wrong ur hella hot. But I would want to know you and build up some trust before anything could happen. In a perfect world, we wait until after you graduate and ur no longer a student of mine. But I can’t help there’s a part of me that would love a secret school tryst. I don’t want this to be weird for you. You deserve a senior year that isn’t complicated by all this.”

Months later, the user wrote, “1st day out of HS. WYD?”

When there was no response, he wrote, “Just curious - what did I do to make you hate me so much?”

Investigators noted that two witnesses said they saw Fey’s Grindr profile open on his phone. They also noted that the user’s messages referenced specific personal details and knowledge that only he could have, and GPS data matched Fey’s home. Further, witnesses told investigators that after the student turned 18, Fey followed him around on campus, particularly around the lunch area.

Investigators also allege that Fey reached out to multiple other male students on Instagram, sometimes suggesting lunch or meetings. Witnesses also said he bought a student a lottery ticket for his 18th birthday, which another teacher reported as inappropriate. They also noted that he searched the school database for student ages, genders, and demographic information at around the same time he messaged them.

Investigators said they found Fey’s explanations “unpersuasive.” When asked why he searched demographic information in the district database, Fey said he couldn’t recall any reason, though after conferring with his attorney, claimed he needed to balance class rosters and develop a new off-campus lunch policy for 18-year-olds. Another administrator testified that Synergy, the school system, automatically balances classes, and demographic reports are handled elsewhere.

Fey also suggested that he may have been the target of a prank, noting prior incidents where students targeted administrators. Due to the amount of corroborating data in the messages, investigators found that it is likely that Fey operated the account and contacted students. According to EdSource, Fey made at least one report to police alleging identity theft. PPD Lt. Nick Albert old EdSource that police investigated the claim, but no report was filed and no arrests were made.

In August 2024, Fey was placed on indefinite administrative leave, according to an EdSource report. In February 2025, following the investigation, the district notified Fey that he was fired, according to Pleasanton Weekly.

"In August 2024, representatives of the Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) were made aware of allegations of serious misconduct against former Amador Valley High School (AVHS) Principal Jonathan Fey," PUSD said in a statement shared with Patch. "These allegations included claims that Mr. Fey had sent inappropriate social media communications to former and then-current AVHS students. Shortly after learning about these allegations, the Pleasanton Police Department was notified, Mr. Fey was placed on administrative leave, and the District retained an outside investigator to conduct a thorough and independent investigation. The District took these allegations very seriously and, as a result, Mr. Fey is no longer an employee of the District."

In April, Fey appealed the dismissal through the Office of Administrative Hearings, and in September, he filed a lawsuit to block the release of the documents to Pleasanton Weekly and EdSource.

The lawsuit and administrative appeal were settled out of court. As part of the agreement, Fey was allowed to resign rather than be fired, and the district agreed to pay him $254,000 to cover back pay and legal fees, according to reports.

"It is the District’s sincere hope that the District’s prompt actions in response to these allegations, and Mr. Fey’s separation from the District, will bring closure to all those involved," PUSD said in a statement. "As part of our commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, we encourage students to report any inappropriate conduct.

We respectfully ask parents to partner with us in this commitment and remind their children that they should feel safe on campus, and if they are aware of or have been subjected to inappropriate conduct, they should report that to a school administrator and/or the Pleasanton Police Department.”

SEE ALSO:

• Longtime Tri-Valley Cheer Coach Guilty Of Sexual Abuse
• Jonathan Fey Selected As New Amador Valley High School Principal