Community member requests records of ex-Yelm bus driver and ex-Yelm principal after misconduct

Yelm community member E. Wyatt Mendel has submitted a public records request to Yelm Community Schools regarding two former employees, James Ruiz and Ryan Akiyama, who were both accused of misconduct after their time in the district concluded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) collaborated with the Yelm Police Department (YPD) on Tuesday, April 21, to arrest the former Yelm Community Schools (YCS) bus driver, Ruiz, on charges of first-degree child molestation, first-degree rape of a child and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to the Thurston County Jail roster, bail was initially set at $100,000 for the first-degree child molestation charge, and another $100,000 bond set for the first-degree child rape charge. Additionally, there is a $50,000 bond set for his first-degree charge of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Ruiz was a former employee of YCS, but he officially resigned before the 2025-26 school year began. His resignation was made official during a YCS Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Yelm Superintendent Chris Woods issued a statement on the situation to YCS families on Wednesday, April 22, and confirmed that Ruiz was indeed a former employee of the district.

Woods wrote that the former employee was “arrested on deeply unsettling allegations that he committed serious crimes involving children.”

“Although we have very limited information at this time, we have been informed by the FBI that the allegations are not believed to involve YCS students and that the suspect is currently in custody,” Woods wrote last month.

The superintendent added that residents can contact YPD at 360-458-5701 if they, or someone they know, have any questions or any relevant information to the situation.

Mendel also sought out information regarding former Yelm High School Principal Ryan Akiyama, who has been on administrative leave from his job in the Olympia School District for nearly a year.

According to reporting by Alesha Perkins on Substack, Akiyama has been on administrative leave from OSD since June 2025 for allegations of sexual harassment. According to her reporting, a third-party investigation led to the final conclusion that Akiyama lied during the investigation on multiple occasions — including denying that he had previously been investigated, denying prior discipline in Yelm and allegedly providing false information on his employment application to OSD.

Additionally, the investigation found that Akiyama engaged in sexual harassment and concluded that three students were sexually harrassed in violation of district Policy 3205 — and that his conduct contributed to a classroom atmosphere that was hostile to students on the basis of sex.

The investigation also concluded that Akiyama failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with students on 14 counts.
According to the Substack article, a parent wrote to Olympia High School (OHS) Principal Matt Grant in June of 2025 to express their concern “regarding inappropriate and unprofessional behavior” displayed by the teacher.

Three years before being hired by OSD, Akiyama served as the principal of YHS and was ultimately placed on administrative leave in 2019 after an arrest for DUI and possession of a deadly weapon. He allegedly possessed brass knuckles during the time of the arrest.

Previous reporting from the Nisqually Valley News on Thursday, May 16, 2019, stated that Yelm Community Schools (YCS) was looking to “start clean” and begin a search for a new principal to lead YHS after Akiyama’s arrest in April 2019.

“I ultimately made the decision that the information was such that trust was broken and we had to go in a different direction with respect to leadership at the high school,” former YCS Superintendent Brian Wharton said in May 2019. “The process of adjudication could take years. Do you want that to be the focus at the high school, or do you want the students and their learning to be the focus?”

Akiyama was placed on administrative leave at Yelm and demoted from his position as principal of YHS. He later pled guilty to reckless driving in Nov. 2019 and was ordered to pay $533. He was also placed on probation and handed a suspended jail sentence.

The court imposed a jail sentence of 364 days with 364 days suspended, meaning Akiyama would’ve avoided jail as long as he didn’t commit additional crimes. His probation included breath and urine testing, a substance abuse evaluation, alcohol information school and a victims panel, according to court documents, according to previous reporting from the Nisqually Valley News in Dec. 2019.

Mendel, who has been attending YCS Board of Director meetings for “quite some time,” said he’s requested public records regarding the two former YCS employees.

“I wanted to let all the parents know that the public records request act process has officially started for James Ruiz,” Mendel said, on May 14. “I expect, after recent events, that the district will prioritize getting me these files in a timely manner.”

Mendel added that once he receives the information from the public records requests about Ruiz, along with the data about the former principal, he’ll upload them online for the community to view at no cost.

“The community will likely have to revisit, or even investigate again, the actions of these men to see if additional action is needed,” Mendel said at the meeting. “If any of the families in the community need any help paying for legal costs related to these matters, I am more than happy to help.”