District, Accused Teacher Settle For $47,000 Mather Resigns, Promises Not To Sue

The Coeur d’Alene School District and its insurance carrier have paid Paul Mather $47,000 in exchange for his resignation and promise not to sue.

Mather was accused of sexually molesting five female students at Canfield Middle School. The school board agreed to the settlement on March 8, two days before a scheduled dismissal hearing.

District Superintendent Doug Cresswell released the settlement terms on Monday. He said he had recommended that the board accept the agreement to save money and to spare Mather’s alleged victims further trauma.

The teenagers already had been through the grief of testifying in court when Mather was charged with child sexual abuse. He was acquitted but stood to lose his job on grounds that he had violated professional ethical standards.

“We felt that emotionally, it was in the best interest of the students not to have them go through the trauma of testifying again and most likely a third time with the Professional Standards Commission,” Cresswell said.

The commission will consider revoking Mather’s teaching certificate, making it impossible for him to work in public schools.

Were he to challenge the revocation, there would be a hearing at which the girls might be asked to explain again how Mather touched their breasts and buttocks.

If a potential employer calls the Coeur d’Alene District asking about Mather, Cresswell said, “we would say that Mr. Mather resigned from our school district in face of a dismissal hearing regarding child sexual abuse.”

The father of one girl wasn’t happy about the deal struck by the district.

“It doesn’t strike me as any real break for the girls,” he said. “The tough part for them was to come forward in the first place. They’ve already talked to the school officials, to the police, the courts …

“How do they expect kids to report abuse in the future? And the message to any borderline perverts out there is, they don’t need to be as concerned about the consequences,” the father said. “I think the school board should have as much courage as the kids did to do the right thing.”

School board member Herb Cheeley would not comment on the case. Other board members could not be reached.

Mather has maintained his innocence, saying that his touches were misinterpreted.

Last week, he released a statement contending that resigning was in the best interest of his family, friends and the community. According to Mather’s attorneys, the school district agreed to compensate him for the “hardship endured by his family.”

Financial details of the settlement were released only after reporters requested them under the Idaho Public Records Act.

The district paid Mather $27,500. That’s $8,300 more than remained to be paid to Mather for this year’s teaching contract. He’s been on paid leave since June.

It would have cost the district about $30,000 to conduct the dismissal hearing, Cresswell said. That included paying attorneys, a court recorder and a retired judge who would have served as hearing officer.

The insurance company paid $20,000. It was interested in avoiding the cost of a lawsuit, Cresswell said. Mather already had filed a tort claim against the district.

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