Boise teacher’s mouse infestation lawsuit settled — for hundreds of thousands
The Boise School District agreed to a more than $700,000 settlement to resolve complaints from a former teacher who sued the district after she said she dealt with a mouse infestation in her classroom for years.
The district said Tuesday that the complaints were “mutually resolved” based on advice from its counsel and in an attempt to avoid disruptions to students and staff. The district continued to deny any admission of fault or liability.
Idaho Education News first reported on the details of the settlement.
Former teacher Michelle Chung, who taught family and consumer science at West Junior High, filed her first lawsuit in 2024, alleging that her classroom was infested with mice, and that she had found droppings and urine from the animals in her classroom. A repair technician at one point even found a dead mouse in an oven in her class, the Statesman previously reported.
In the suit, she said officials failed to address her concerns and called the district’s inaction “reckless and intentional.”
“West Junior High and the district have refused to take Chung’s complaints seriously, allowing mice to nest, urinate and defecate in the ovens and dishwashers of her lab room, which became saturated with mice feces and urine, as well as nests in Chung’s actual classroom behind the washer machine and in all the sewing machine covers in her curriculum closet,” the complaint said.
The district, in response, alleged she exhibited “negligent and careless misconduct.”
In May last year, she filed another lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that the district was violating the Family Medical Leave Act and causing emotional distress. In that suit, she said she had been diagnosed with Babesiosis and anaplasmosis, two coinfections of Lyme, due to “persistent mice exposure.”
When she took FMLA leave, the district blocked her from communicating with her substitute and sharing lesson plans. The district also suspended her email access, and deleted several items from her email folders, the suit said. She faced interference with her rights, retaliation and discrimination, the suit said.
Upon requesting to extend her leave into the 2024-2025 school year, the district required that she sign a new policy that barred her from “planning,” “work-related communications” and being physically present at her work site at any times.
The policy “was created to specifically retaliate and target Chung and to keep her from communicating with parents and students about her condition and allegations of a continuing mice infestation in her classroom,” the lawsuit alleged.
The suits were settled in May.
Boise settled to ‘avoid protracted litigation’
Boise School District spokesperson Dan Hollar said the district agreed to resolve the complaints after discussions with its counsel and insurance carrier. He added that district wanted to “avoid protracted litigation.”
The total settlement amount was $720,000, and the district’s insurer will pay $550,000, Hollar said in an email.
“The District has at all times disputed and continues to dispute the factual and legal assertions alleged in the complaints, expressly denies any admission of fault, liability, or causation, and entered into the settlement solely to compromise disputed claims and conclude the litigation,” Hollar said. “The District’s decision to settle was motivated by a desire to refocus resources on its core mission of educating and supporting students and staff and to preserve a safe, stable learning environment.”
The case had been heading for trial later this month. It was dismissed with prejudice, so it may not be brought back.
