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The Mountain View Whisman School District agreed last month to pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by a former Crittenden Middle School teacher and administrator who worked at the school in the 1970s.
The school board agreed in closed session at a May 29 meeting to settle sexual molestation claims brought by two former students, board President Bill Lambert announced. The settlement agreement “recognizes the matter is disputed,” but provides for the district to pay $800,000 to each former student, Lambert said.
“We believe this agreement fairly addresses the concerns raised, while ensuring that critical funding remains directed toward educational programs and supportive services our students rely on today,” Superintendent Jeff Baier said at the meeting.
The money to pay the settlement is coming from Mountain View Whisman’s general fund, because the district could not locate insurance from the time when the alleged misconduct occurred, Baier told the Voice.
In the lawsuit, two anonymous plaintiffs who were students at Crittenden in the 1970s allege that they were groomed and sexually assaulted by a man working as a teacher and vice principal at the school.
The lawsuit was possible because of a 2019 state law that expanded the ability of victims of childhood sexual assault to take legal action. Assembly Bill 218 extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault claims and gave victims whose statutes of limitations had expired until the end of 2022 to file lawsuits.
It was AB 218 that enabled this lawsuit to be filed, specifically the provision reviving otherwise expired claims until the end of 2022, Mountain View Whisman Chief Business Officer Rebecca Westover confirmed.
Following the passage of AB 218, school districts around the state have faced lawsuits surrounding decades-old child sexual assault allegations. A recent report from the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) estimated that, so far, school districts are facing claims totaling $2-3 billion, although exact figures aren’t known and claims are in various stages of litigation.
FCMAT concluded that litigation resulting from AB 218 will have a significant fiscal impact on school districts, affecting the programs and services that they offer. The extent of the impact can also “vary widely” based on insurance availability and terms, the report said.
In the case of Mountain View Whisman, while the district now has insurance that would cover claims of sexual assault today, it couldn’t find coverage from back in the 70s, Baier said. That means the payout will be coming from the district’s general fund, which also covers core expenses, such as teacher and staff salaries.
Baier stressed that student safety is the district’s top priority and that Mountain View Whisman now has various protections in place, including enhanced student supervision policies, mandated staff and volunteer training, and reporting procedures.
Mountain View Whisman isn’t the only school district that has reached a settlement in this particular lawsuit. Santa Cruz City Schools agreed last year to pay $4.5 million to settle claims with two other plaintiffs who alleged sexual abuse by the same educator.
In total, this lawsuit includes five plaintiffs alleging sexual misconduct by the same individual, but only two of the plaintiffs had claims which were tied to Mountain View Whisman.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not respond to emailed questions before the Voice’s deadline. The educator accused of misconduct also did not respond before the deadline to a request for comment sent to an email listed in court records.
