ARIMO — A former superintendent has settled his tort claim against the Marsh Valley School District.

Marvin Hansen, the former 16-year superintendent of the Marsh Valley School District, has settled with his employer after filing a tort claim alleging the actions of a state lawmaker and his wife eventually led to a former district employee’s husband beating him with a baseball bat outside of his office this past summer.

Hansen alleged in a Jan. 4 tort claim — a legal document required as a precursor to a civil lawsuit against an Idaho governmental entity — that state Rep. Randy Armstrong, R-Inkom, tried to intimidate him last year into firing the Marsh Valley High School boys basketball coach.

The tort claim also states Randy’s wife and current Marsh Valley school board member, Paige Armstrong, had spread false allegations of sexual harassment against Hansen and breached confidentiality agreements by knowingly spreading false information that caused him a “loss of income, turmoil … and the beating at the hand of Mr. (David) Battson.” Hansen indicated he would have sought $500,000 in damages had he filed a civil lawsuit against the Marsh Valley School District.

Following the tort notice being filed, the Marsh Valley School District Board of Trustees recently voted to pay $27,500 to buy out Hansen’s contract as an administrative assistant with the district on the condition Hansen not sue the district. The school board’s decision to buy out Hansen’s contract followed a mutual separation agreement between Hansen and the district last year.

The school board unanimously agreed to the contract buyout during an open meeting following an executive session at the district’s main offices in Arimo on Feb. 8. The buyout includes an agreement Hansen will not file a civil lawsuit against the district, Hansen’s Pocatello attorney Reed Larsen said Thursday.

“The Marsh Valley School District received a notice of tort claim from former Superintendent Marvin Hansen in January,” the Marsh Valley School District Board of Trustees said in a joint statement provided to the Idaho State Journal on Wednesday. “Although the Board of Trustees disputed the merits of the claims asserted in the notice, the Board of Trustees agreed to a buyout of Mr. Hansen’s existing employment agreement to avoid further legal and other costs to the district. The buyout is in the amount of $27,500, which represents the sum Mr. Hansen would have received through June 30, 2021 as an employee of the district.”

Hansen’s tort claim alleges Randy Armstrong tried to pressure him into firing former Marsh Valley High School boys basketball coach Jason Brower, who is now the boys basketball coach at American Falls High School. Brower did not return the Journal’s request for comment for this story.

Hansen claims Randy Armstrong stated if Hansen didn’t fire Brower “then the Marsh Valley school board would get rid of Mr. Hansen first, then Mr. Brower.” Additionally, the tort claim states Randy Armstrong told Hansen there were allegations he was not abiding by district fiscal policies that would soon “take (on) a life of their own.”

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Randy Armstrong in a phone interview Wednesday said he was dumbfounded when he first learned of the claims included in the notice of tort. He strongly denied Hansen’s assertions and spoke to what he described as the root of the falsehoods — the interaction between the two men at the Idaho School Boards Association’s annual Day on the Hill convention in Boise last year.

“(Hansen) believes I wanted to sit by him so that I could threaten his job,” Randy Armstrong said. “He saved me a seat and waved me over.”

Randy Armstrong said he told Hansen at the convention he had received numerous complaints about the Marsh Valley School District, particularly about the high school boys basketball coach at the time, Brower, “who had only won one game at the state level in 15 years.” Randy Armstrong said he suggested a coaching change be considered.

“I told Marvin (Hansen) that you have a reputation for ignoring the people and this is an opportunity where you could step in and act like you are responsive to these peoples’ concerns,” Randy Armstrong said. “Then I told Marvin, ‘Right now these people are coming after (Brower) and if you don’t do something about it, I have a really bad feeling they’ll be coming after you.’ And then they did.”

Hansen also alleged Paige Armstrong, after becoming a school board member in January 2020, began initiating and overseeing numerous public records requests to try and prove Hansen was misusing district funds.

According to a June 2020 Idaho State Journal article that included a post Hansen made to his personal Facebook page, Hansen said he was found to have committed “an ethical violation on my part for my misuse of a district phone and car.”

Hansen signed a separation agreement on June 6, 2020, that involved him resigning from his position as superintendent effective June 30, 2020, and becoming the interim superintendent effective July 1, 2020. The agreement stated Hansen would continue receiving his annual salary of nearly $109,000 until the district could hire a permanent replacement. He would then become an administrative assistant, his salary would be reduced to $5,500 per month and his contract would expire on June 30, 2021. The agreement included no concessions about any wrongdoing on Hansen’s behalf and provided Hansen with three weeks to sign.

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Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Fonnesbeck, who outside of providing the board’s joint statement declined further comment for this story, approved and signed the separation agreement on July 13, 2020, which stated the school district would “limit its response to Hansen’s period of employment, years of service, placement, attendance and salary history” regarding any inquiries into Hansen’s employment and the agreement would “not be viewed as documentation related to Hansen’s job performance.”

Hansen also said in the June 2020 Facebook post a former employee of the district had accused him of sexual harassment, though the “school board hired legal counsel who retained an impartial investigator … and determined the allegations were unfounded.”

In his tort claim, Hansen alleges when Paige Armstrong’s record requests uncovered no financial misdeeds, former district employee Lynette Battson “told Mrs. Armstrong that she knew how to get Mr. Hansen fired. Ms. Battson then accused Mr. Hansen of sexual harassment.”

Less than a week before Hansen was set to officially step down as superintendent, David Lance Battson, 51, of Inkom, was charged with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor malicious injury to property for allegedly striking Hansen in the head with a baseball bat and breaking a window at the district’s main office on June 23, 2020.

Hansen was hospitalized with broken ribs and a concussion overnight following the incident and said he was lucky to be alive after the ordeal. Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu at the time declined to comment on any potential motive for the attack but said he did commission a Tri-County Sheriff’s Office Association investigation into the allegations against Hansen concerning Lynette Battson, David Battson’s wife. When contacted Thursday afternoon, Manu said he was out of town and could not comment on the results of that investigation.

On Jan. 13, David Battson pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking Hansen and has a sentencing hearing set for March 2.

The allegations against Hansen concerning Lynette Battson are false, Hansen states in his tort claim, adding Paige Armstrong “intentionally and knowingly shared confidential personal information about Mr. Hansen to third parties” and “did so knowing the allegations were false and/or in a reckless disregard as to their truth … in an effort to get Mr. Hansen fired.”

Hansen alleges members of the school board violated its separation agreement when “members of the board disclosed information including telling Mr. Battson of the affair (between Hansen and Lynette Battson), which led to Mr. Battson beating Mr. Hansen with a baseball bat on school property during work hours for Mr. Hansen.”

Paige Armstrong “unequivocally denied” Hansen’s assertions during a Thursday phone interview with the Journal.

“There is absolutely no merit to any of those claims he is accusing me of,” she said.

When contacted Thursday, Lynette Battson referred the Journal to her Pocatello attorney Pat George for any statement from her and to Shane Reichert, David Battson’s Pocatello attorney, for any statement from him. Reichert declined to comment and George did not return the Journal’s request for comment.

When contacted Thursday afternoon, Marvin Hansen referred all comments to Larsen, his attorney, who said aside from an unrelated worker’s compensation claim, Hansen’s tort claim against the district “has been settled, Hansen is satisfied with the resolution and he is looking forward to putting this process behind him and what lies in store next.”