March 15 update: Attorneys for the three victims’ families and MHUSD agreed to the $8.25 million settlement in Santa Clara County Superior Court March 15. Also as part of the settlement, MHUSD will implement predatory identification training for staff and curriculum for students.
An $8.25-million settlement agreement between Morgan Hill Unified School District and the families of three victims of a former teacher who is now in prison for molesting children will go before the school board for formal approval in a closed session tonight.
Attorney Robert Allard, who represents the families of children who were sexually assaulted by fifth grade teacher John Loyd, confirmed that MHUSD officials agreed to pay the families $8.25 million. The settlement will include other, non-monetary terms, but the full agreement requires the school board’s approval before it can be approved by a Superior Court judge.
Allard’s spokesman, Ed Vasquez, previously confirmed the monetary part of the settlement March 11.
Though MHUSD officials aren’t commenting on the agreement reached over this past weekend, Allard said the matter is “completely settled” as far as the victims’ families are concerned.
The district has called for a special closed session meeting at 5 p.m March 14 to discuss the case. Under “Conference with legal counsel – existing litigation,” the meeting agenda lists three cases “Jane Doe1,” “Jane Doe2,” and “Jane Doe3,” all v. Morgan Hill Unified School District with corresponding case numbers.
The young female victims and their families sued the district in 2015 for allowing Loyd, 55—the girls’ fifth grade teacher—to molest the children while they attended his class at Paradise Valley Elementary School on LaCrosse Drive. The complaint accused the district of turning a blind eye while Loyd violated state education laws and district policies that left him alone with the children in his classroom.
In August 2015, Loyd pleaded guilty to four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with four of his fifth-grade female students, all of which occurred at the school. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Non-monetary terms of the settlement could include to what extent the district will be required to implement new training programs for staff and students on how to identify a sexual predator.
After the Times received numerous anonymous reports that a settlement had been reached outside court, Allard and Vasquez confirmed this training was part of the agreement March 11. However, they later walked back that statement because such a requirement depends on approval by the MHUSD board, Allard said Tuesday.
MHUSD officials declined to comment on the settlement before Tuesday’s closed session board meeting.
“Both parties have an obligation under the gag order not to speak to the media,” said MHUSD Communications Coordinator Kimberly Beare in an emailed response to The Times. “Until a settlement is reached, we will be abiding by that order.”
The 2015 complaint filed by three of the victims’ families alleges that Loyd created opportunities to be alone with the female fifth-grade students in the classroom, in violation of state education laws and school district policies. It also claims the district disregarded a series of complaints about the teacher’s conduct, which included a tendency by Loyd to “play favorites” with some of his female students.
The claim also alleged that Loyd was directed by his supervisor to retain children in his classroom during lunch and recess periods, which is a violation of state education codes that mandate all students must be out of the classroom during these times.
Loyd also reportedly covered his classroom windows with paper, obstructing any view inside and out.
Loyd taught at MHUSD from 2000 until his arrest in 2014. He began teaching in the district at Nordstrom Elementary School, and was transferred to Paradise Valley on LaCrosse Drive in south Morgan Hill in 2008.
The incidents to which he pleaded guilty took place on four separate occasions from late 2012 to October 2014, according to court documents.
Allard disagreed with the school district’s position on the gag order, which he said “expired” as soon as the parties agreed to a settlement, leaving no jury to influence. He added that the school district is sticking to its position on the gag order “because they want to restrict the ability of my clients to speak freely.”
Allard sent a statement to the Times Saturday, March 11, but later asked to hold off on publishing it because it addressed settlement conditions not yet approved by the MHUSD board. He said he “did not want to unduly influence the school district through the press. We wanted to give them the opportunity to do the right thing when it came down to finalizing the non-monetary terms.”
The March 15 hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court will begin at 10 a.m. All terms of the $8.25-million settlement will be disclosed at that hearing.
