Teacher Accused Of Fondling May Get Bonus Attorney Says District’s Settlement With Mather ‘Substantially More’ Than Balance Of This Year’s Salary

Instead of a dismissal hearing, a teacher accused of fondling students may be leaving the Coeur d’Alene school district with a bonus.

School officials have refused to discuss the terms of a settlement reached with Paul Mather. It was announced on Saturday, when Mather resigned two days before facing a dismissal hearing.

A press release from the school district indicated only that Mather would be paid an undisclosed amount. According to the alleged victims’ families, district officials told them Mather was paid only for the balance of salary and benefits in this year’s teaching contract.

But this week Mather’s attorney, Tim Gresback, said rumors about the amount of the settlement are low.

“It has been reported that Paul Mather was simply paid the balance of his contract by the school district,” he said. “However, his total compensation for resolving this matter is substantially more.”

That dismayed the parents of the girls whom Mather allegedly fondled.

“Their primary agenda was to get him out as fast and simply as they could with the least publicity and trouble for the school district,” said one mother. “It had nothing to do with the safety and welfare of the children.”

School district attorney Charles Dodson and assistant superintendent Dave Teater said Thursday they could not comment on the settlement.

Nor could Teater explain why the community had to be kept in the dark about the agreement.

A statement released by Gresback and attorney John Ramel of the Idaho Education Association said that Mather has received compensation for “the hardship endured by he and his family.”

The statement also said:

“Although he was prepared to vigorously defend against the discharge proceedings brought against him by the school district, he decided that receiving a fair settlement, without any admission of wrongdoing on his part, would be in the best interest of his family, friends and the community.”

Mather was a geography teacher at Canfield Middle School and baseball coach at Coeur d’Alene High School.

He was suspended with pay last June after five female Canfield students accused him of hugging them inappropriately. He pleaded not guilty to two charges of sex abuse, and a Kootenai County jury acquitted him in January.

After the trial, superintendent of schools Doug Cresswell said he would recommend to the school board that Mather be dismissed. The standards of proof for ethical violations in school are less stringent than for criminal conviction.

The school board had scheduled a dismissal hearing for Monday. Mather’s part of the settlement included dropping a tort claim against the district claiming he was improperly dismissed.

Parents of the alleged victims said Thursday the district told them that Mather would only be paid the remainder of his contract.

They were angry and distraught to hear that Mather had possibly been given more money.

The mother of one girl said this is not the first time they have been lied to by the school district. When her daughter told her about Mather’s inappropriate touching, the mother asked school officials if they had ever had problems with the teacher before.

She says they told her no.

As it turns out, the school district investigated Mather in 1989 for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl. Numerous people - including Mather’s wife - told investigators that Mather had admitted the affair to them.

Criminal charges were never brought after the teenager decided she did not want to press charges.

School officials also testified during the January trial that they warned Mather in 1993 about touching students after a girl complained about the way Mather touched her.

, DataTimes