SLO High School coach on paid leave over alleged inappropriate behavior with student
A San Luis Obispo High School teacher and boys basketball coach is on paid leave while the school district investigates allegations of inappropriate behavior involving a student and allegations from a former school employee and a former KSBY-TV employee, according to district officials.
Jeffrey Brandow, 39, was placed on leave in March, five months after San Luis Coastal Unified School District officials learned of the student’s complaint against him, Superintendent Eric Prater told The Tribune.
District officials declined to confirm the details of the student’s complaint.
After the school district learned of the student’s complaint in October, Brandow continued teaching and coached the boys basketball team to a league championship. He was originally hired at the school about a decade ago to be the high school’s athletic director until Marci Beddall replaced him in 2020.
Whether a teacher is placed on administrative leave depends on how strong the allegations are against them, a district official told The Tribune. His name and photo are not currently listed on SLO High School’s staff webpage.
In the months following the student’s complaint about alleged inappropriate behavior from Brandow, the district learned of other allegations against him, including a 2018 restraining order from a former KSBY-TV employee.
District officials were unable to comment on the details of those allegations.
Since March, Brandow has been on paid leave while the school district conducts an investigation, according to Prater.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy. ... Any type of misconduct between an adult, employee and student is unacceptable,” Prater told The Tribune. “We will do everything we can to keep our children, our students, safe.”
The allegations against Brandow came just three months after the San Luis Coastal Board of Education adopted a new “Safe Sports Policy,” which aims to better protect student athletes from inappropriate behavior or sexual misconduct through increased training of athletics staff.
“We’re trying to create a heightened sense of awareness,” Prater said of the new policy. “Even with the training and the Safe Sports Policy, adults behave badly, and we’re being as vigilant as possible to make sure students remain unharmed and that we investigate anything as soon as possible.”
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Who we talked to for this story
While reporting this story, Mackenzie Shuman found that many rumors were circulating throughout the community regarding the allegations against Jeffrey Brandow.
In attempts to confirm the validity of these rumors, Shuman contacted multiple San Luis Obispo High School teachers, coaches and officials, as well as officials from the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
Most sources did not wish to speak “on the record” — a term that means a reporter can use whatever is said in the article with attribution. Instead, most of the individuals refused to say anything or asked to remain anonymous due to their position within the school or district.
Any information received anonymously by The Tribune is taken into deep consideration before it is published. Reporters and editors weigh the importance of the information with the credibility of the source and whether other sources can confirm any facts raised by the anonymous source.
Shuman was unable to get in contact with the student who filed the October complaint or confirm the validity of rumors about other allegations against Brandow. Therefore, the story does not include any rumored information she received.
Community members with information regarding any allegations against Brandow are encouraged to contact Shuman, knowing the information is secure and won’t be used in publication unless it is valid.
She can be contacted at 805-781-7844 or mshuman@thetribunenews.com.
2018 restraining order alleges Brandow sexually harassed KSBY employee
Despite the district’s inability to comment on the allegations against Brandow regarding the student, a 2018 restraining order filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court alleges that he used his position as a high school sports director to manipulate and sexually harass a former KSBY employee.
The KSBY employee spoke to The Tribune on the condition of anonymity as she remains traumatized by Brandow’s alleged abuse and the restraining order process.
In the restraining order application, filed in August 2018, the employee said Brandow became obsessed with her beginning in June of that year.
“He manipulates his job to pretend he needs to be in contact with me,” the employee said in the application. “He lies constantly about situations to get my attention.”
Those included work excuses and using his children “as bait” — which involved Brandow telling the KSBY employee he needed her because his children were in the emergency room, according to the restraining order application.
Brandow would show up at the woman’s home unannounced, stalked her home and called her 50-100 times daily “at all hours,” the restraining order application said. He also constantly sent messages to her work and personal email, the application said.
According to the application, Brandow left hundreds of handwritten letters at the woman’s home. Some came from letters enclosed in envelopes addressed from Laguna Middle School and San Luis Obispo High School.
In one letter, Brandow — who was married at the time — offered to pay the woman $1,000 to talk, $10,000 for one to two dates and $20,000 to be “all in.”
“Nobody is perfect,” Brandow wrote in the letter that included the check. “Yes, I call on repeat, yes, I emailed your work, yes, I sit on your street to see you. Don’t you want an intense lover who would die/do anything for you??? Any guy you meet will have flaws.”
In another letter attached to the application, Brandow offered the woman $10,000 to speak with him and attached a copy of the check he would give her if she did.
“I have ruined your life, and I’m sorry for that,” Brandow wrote in the letter. “Nothing in my life matters except you and my 3 kids.”
In the application, the former KSBY employee notes how the constant harassment from Brandow negatively impacted her mental health.
“Causes me anxiety, stress, emotional discomfort,” the woman wrote in the application. “He has sociopathic tendencies and crazy manipulative behavior. I fear he is waiting outside my home every day.”
The restraining order has expired since it was issued by a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge, Brandow told The Tribune in a brief interview.
He said he was distressed about the contents of the restraining order becoming public because of his wife and kids.
He did not comment on the other allegations against him.
It’s unclear at this time when the school district will conclude its investigation.
If you have information about the case you would like to share, contact reporter Mackenzie Shuman at 805-781-7844 or mshuman@thetribunenews.com.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 12:47 PM.
