The Growing Rot in the Public School System

It's being hidden in plain sight

On January 7, 2025, Boise Police began an investigation into Gavin Snow, a special education assistant in the Boise School District. After obtaining a search warrant, police found evidence of child exploitation on his electronic devices involving students at Valley View Elementary School, where Snow was employed.

Three days later, Boise Police officers attempted to arrest Snow, but he committed suicide rather than allowing himself to be taken into custody.

Last week, Kevin Richert at Idaho Ed News reported that the Boise School District had settled seven tort claims filed by families of Snow’s victims. The district agreed to pay $7 million to the families, with $2 million covered by the district’s insurance policy and the remaining $5 million coming out of the plant facilities fund.

Ryan Oswald at CBS-2 reported that a former teacher at Valley View claims she was suspended and forced to resign after filing a report against Gavin Snow. Marianne Baker says she filed her report on January 7—the same day the district notified Boise Police of allegations against Snow—but was placed on administrative leave. She has filed her own tort claim against the Boise School District, which denies that Baker was fired or denied due process.

If you feel like stories like this are becoming more common, you’re not alone. According to a Substack post by Sen. Tammy Nichols this morning, allegations of sexual abuse in public schools have increased dramatically:

Over the last two years, reports of sexual misconduct involving school employees have increased 20% nationally. Idaho has had its own troubling cases, incidents involving grooming, inappropriate relationships, or failures to report, that have shaken families and demanded accountability.

Nichols said that she is working on legislation to address this growing problem in the upcoming session:

I have been working closely with several courageous Idaho educators, people who have stood up for families and students even when doing so came at a personal cost. Together, we are drafting multiple pieces of legislation aimed at:

• Strengthening and enforcing mandatory reporting requirements

• Ensuring transparency, the moment misconduct is suspected

• Protecting whistleblowers and educators who speak up

• Providing families clear avenues for recourse when systems fail

• Preventing educators with misconduct histories from being quietly transferred to new schools or districts

• Closing loopholes that allow offenders to move undetected within the system

Yet there is a rot in the system that I believe is behind this increase. Conservatives have long opposed the proliferation of sexually explicit materials in school libraries and curricula, and it is fair to draw a link between the ideology that promotes such materials and increasing incidents of abuse and exploitation of children. On one hand, schools teach students about sex and sexuality starting in kindergarten and encourage teachers to be open about their own sexuality; on the other hand, we are expected to be shocked with each new revelation of abuse.

Earlier this fall, the Idaho Family Policy Center filed a tort claim against Boise School District on behalf of a family whose daughter encountered a boy in the girls’ bathroom:

The girl previously attended Boise High School, where she twice encountered a biological male in the adjacent bathroom stall during the 2024-2025 school year. She believes that the biological male was masturbating in the adjacent bathroom stall during the second encounter.

Boise High School officials later told the girl and her family that the biological male had express permission to use restrooms designated for females based on his gender support plan. The girl ultimately suffered anxiety and other psychological harm as a result of the encounters, leading her parents to remove her from Boise High School and enroll her in another high school.

Not only does this violate any concept of morality and child protection, it is explicitly against the law. In 2023, Rep. Ted Hill and Sen. Ben Adams carried Senate Bill 1100, prohibiting students from using restrooms that do not correspond to biological reality. The bill passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little.

The Idaho Legislature took a stand for truth, but Boise School District officials apparently believe they know better. “All are welcome here” apparently means boys are allowed in girls’ bathrooms so long as they have an “approved gender support plan,” and any girl who complains is labeled an intolerant bigot.

Once a school system discards any pretense of morality in the name of inclusion—sacrificing the well-being of innocent children for a pernicious and destructive ideology—what basis does it have left to stand against child predators?

Rep. Heather Scott has been digging into a story in the Twin Falls School District involving an elementary school teacher who posted sexually suggestive videos online:

A school employee/parent of a student in the class discovered the videos and followed the proper reporting chain: first to district administration on October 1, then to the superintendent on October 2, and finally to the school board on October 6. Instead of appreciation, she was removed from all her school work shifts on October 2, the very day she escalated her concern.

The district’s response to the teacher with the videos was very different. Meeting minutes show he was placed on paid administrative leave for failing to disclose online content, then transferred from the elementary school to a high school in the district, where he remains employed today.

Note the similarity to Marianne Baker’s allegations against Boise School District. Public school leadership’s immediate response when confronted with accusations of sexual impropriety seems to be to silence the messenger. Just make it go away.

It’s certainly not going away for Boise taxpayers. Because the district’s insurance is capped at $2 million, the additional $5 million from the recent settlement—and any future settlements stemming from the same situation—will come out of taxpayer pockets. Perhaps coincidentally, Boise School District trustees approved an 18% property tax increase without a ballot vote. Kevin Richert at Idaho Ed News reported that district officials said the increase is unrelated to the settlement, but money is fungible. Taking funds from the plant facilities fund means maintenance and repairs must find other sources, such as Boise taxpayers or the state’s general fund.

When public school advocates come to the Legislature hat in hand begging for yet another “historic and unprecedented increase” in funding, keep in mind that payouts to victims of sexual assault by school employees are one of the line items.

One might think stories like these underscore the need for more school choice, allowing tax dollars to follow the student rather than being controlled by an institution that cannot protect children from predator teachers. If parents had greater ability to choose systems that work best for their children, including those with special needs, tragic instances like these could be reduced.

But the opposite is true. Consider Brady Dickinson, superintendent of the Twin Falls School District that transferred Timothy Hafer, the elementary teacher who posted sexually suggestive videos, to another school in the district. Dickinson signed a declaration supporting a lawsuit against the Parental Choice Tax Credit Act.

The message from public school boosters is clear: if you are not wealthy enough to send your children to private schools or lack the time or ability to homeschool, you are trapped in a public school system that feels increasingly dangerous for your children. You are forced to trust officials who have mainstreamed sexually explicit content into your child’s curricula and allowed boys to use your daughter’s bathroom.

Pouring more money into this system will not fix the structural problems. Predators go where the prey are, and a system that prioritizes sexually explicit material and encourages experimentation with sexuality and gender identity is a target-rich environment. Lawmakers and citizens alike must take a closer look at the entire public school system and start discussing serious long-term reforms. Our children depend on action now.