By Jarett Lewis
July 31, 2023 – 8:45 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Civil cases regarding the abuse inside of a special needs classroom by a teacher at Holz Elementary settled in a record way.
According to the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management, the cases settled for a combined $11,750,000, a record amount against a public school board in the history of the state.
“It’s the largest settlement against a school board in West Virginia history,” said Ben Salango.
Seven lawsuits were filed against Nancy Boggs and the Kanawha County Board of Education. Salango represented plaintiffs in three of the seven cases.
The abuse from Boggs was captured on camera in September 2021 inside her classroom. The charges include her slapping a student in the face, and another on the shoulder, pulling a student’s hair, and hitting a student with a cabinet door. She plead guilty to 10 counts of misdemeanor battery and is currently serving one year for each count.
State lawmakers made changes to some state laws following the news of this case against Boggs and classified a teacher abusing a student as a felony.
“Thankfully the legislature changed the law and had cameras put in these self-contained classrooms and we’re seeing it now for the first time,” Salango said.
Changes were made to an already existing law that put cameras in around 2,700 self-contained special needs classrooms in West Virginia. The cameras must be reviewed every 90 days for no less than 15 minutes.
The Kanawha County Board of Education has not commented on the settlements.
Original source: https://wvmetronews.com/2023/07/31/kanawha-county-boe-and-holz-elementary-school-families-reach-11-75m-settlement/