Boise schools will pay millions in sex abuse cases. Where is that money coming from?

The Boise School District will redirect over $4 million it planned to put toward facility maintenance to pay seven families who pursued legal action against the district over sexual abuse allegations.

That means the district will postpone some less urgent projects and will not add any new facilities projects this year beyond its existing commitments, spokesperson Dan Hollar told the Idaho Statesman.

The school district settled with seven different families over sexual abuse allegations against Gavin Snow, a former paraprofessional at Valley View Elementary.

Boise police started to investigate Snow in January over allegations that he was producing child pornography, according to previous Statesman reporting. Officers found evidence of child exploitation and the production of child sexual abuse materials on his electronic devices. Snow was put on administrative leave and died by suicide after police tried to arrest him on suspicion of child sexual abuse and exploitation crimes, the Statesman reported. Boise police concluded Snow “was involved in multiple instances of inappropriate behavior with more than one student” in the bathroom and sensory room at the school, the district said.

The district faced at least seven tort claims about Snow, according to previous Statesman reporting, some of which alleged the district didn’t do enough to supervise Snow or protect children from his actions. A lawsuit a family filed in August alleged that Snow had photographed their child in the school’s sensory room, and potentially the bathroom, the Statesman reported. The family pulled their child out of the school after Boise police told them their child was one of Snow’s victims.

The district since said it has also taken steps to ensure children are safe at school, including implementing new procedures on toileting and bathroom support and barring cellphones while staff members are helping students in bathrooms. The district also updated its training on potential indicators of child abuse, specifically among students with disabilities.

In total, the district plans to pay seven families $7 million, though it said the court must approve each agreement before families will receive the money. About $2 million will be paid by the district’s insurer, and the remaining $5 million will come from the district’s general fund.

What was the money intended for?

The district had planned to transfer $7.4 million from its general fund into its plant facilities fund, the pot of money it uses for routine facility upkeep and scheduled building improvements. It now plans to transfer only $3 million from the general fund and use the rest of the money for the settlements, Hollar said.

The plant facilities fund ended the last fiscal year with a balance of nearly $15.8 million, Hollar said, and all of that money is “fully committed to ongoing and planned facilities and maintenance needs.” He said the district decided to use these funds to avoid any impacts on budgets for classroom instruction, student programs or staffing.

The reduction of funds for facilities means the district will postpone certain “lower-priority projects,” Hollar said.

“We have prioritized projects that require immediate attention, and those projects will continue as scheduled,” he said in an email. “This approach ensures we can meet all current obligations without compromising essential maintenance or the safe operation of our buildings.”

He added that the district remains committed to maintaining its facilities, but will hold off on new projects until more funding is available in the future.