Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on November 18, 2025
BOISE, ID – The Boise School District will pay out $7 million to close seven sexual abuse claims — and most of the money will come from the district’s coffers.
The district announced the settlements Tuesday morning.
The settlement agreements will close seven families’ tort claims against the district — all pertaining to Gavin Snow, a former special education assistant at Boise’s Cynthia Mann and Valley View elementary schools. Snow died by suicide on Jan. 10, as Boise police officers attempted to arrest him on child sexual abuse charges.
While not identical, the tort claims leveled similar allegations that followed a disturbing pattern. The parents said Snow exploited and abused their children, photographing them in school bathrooms or sensory rooms. The claims also accused Boise administrators of negligence, or failing to properly investigate complaints against Snow.
The Boise district has received roughly $152.5 million in tort claims directly or indirectly involving Snow.
While the settlements represent only a fraction of the initial claims. the agreements do not take the district entirely off the hook. Boise’s insurance carrier will cover only $2 million.
“The remaining $5 million will be paid by the district by reducing funding to non-classroom related expenses, including the district’s facility maintenance fund,” the district said in a statement Tuesday morning. “The district’s contribution toward the settlements will not reduce current classroom instruction or student programming. Funds previously planned for transfer into the Plant Facilities Fund will be adjusted to meet this obligation, ensuring that day-to-day educational operations remain fully supported.”
Idaho Education News filed a public records request Monday for any Snow-related settlement agreements and supporting documents. On Tuesday morning, the district declined to release any agreements to EdNews, citing an exemption to public records law that requires only the release of “statistical data and actual amounts paid in (a) settlement.”
Minutes earlier, the district issued a public statement announcing the settlement agreements.
All of the settlements must go through court. One settlement, totaling nearly $2.78 million, has already been approved, the district said Tuesday morning.
The settlements come months after the district publicly apologized to Valley View parents and families. In an April 8 letter, Superintendent Lisa Roberts acknowledged that “a single employee was involved in multiple instances of inappropriate behavior with more than one student in the bathroom and sensory room at Valley View.”
It’s unclear whether the settlement agreements close all of the parents’ tort claims.
One Snow-related tort claim has already resulted in a lawsuit, according to an EdNews search of court records. It’s unclear whether this June 26 lawsuit has been settled; a pretrial hearing remains scheduled for Dec. 9.
A tort claim is not a civil lawsuit. It is a precursor to a potential lawsuit.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
