Vallivue School District trustee Clay Christensen did not publicly disclose his family’s interest in a district real estate purchase, possibly violating district policy and state law.
Vallivue paid Christensen’s father, Dave Christensen, $5 million for 87 acres of land in September 2024 while Clay Christensen was serving on the board. The land was appraised for $2.87 million, about half the purchase amount. Dave Christensen continues to farm the land — free of charge — until the district decides to build a school some eight to 10 years from now.
The Canyon County prosecutor’s office received a complaint regarding the purchase and has turned it over to the sheriff’s office for investigation. The Idaho attorney general’s office does not have jurisdiction, according to a spokesperson for Raúl Labrador.
District policy and Idaho law state it is unlawful for any trustee to have a “pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly” in any district transaction unless certain conditions are met, including a “full disclosure, in writing” detailing the conflict of interest.
A written disclosure does not exist, according to an EdNews public records request. Clay Christensen recused himself from the unanimous board vote to purchase the property, but the board minutes do not say that he announced or explained the conflict of interest. Clay Christensen has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Superintendent Lisa Boyd wrote in a Tuesday email that the district fully analyzed multiple provisions in Idaho law that address conflicts of interest to ensure compliance.
“Clay Christensen did not have any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the contract at the time of its consideration or thereafter,” Boyd wrote.
Clay Christensen is a fourth-generation farmer on his family’s farm, according to comments he made in a video on the Vallivue website.
“That’s an ongoing family business that we’ve had for almost 100 years,” he said in the video.
According to his LinkedIn page, Clay Christensen is the general manager of Dave Christensen Farms. He’s held the position since April 2015, the same year he graduated from Brigham Young University.
EdNews first reported on the land purchase Friday. On Monday morning, Boyd responded with a letter to community members and parents. EdNews’ reporting was factual, according to the letter, but the district wanted to “provide additional context to help our community better understand this decision.”
The letter said the district followed established processes and safeguards to ensure the transaction was handled “appropriately, transparently and without undue influence.”
Boyd said last week that the district did not use a lawyer to prepare the purchase contract and she didn’t think that the district needed to. In a Tuesday email, Boyd said Dave Christensen did not prepare the purchase contract. Boyd signed the purchase contract, not a trustee, and did so before the board voted to approve the $5 million deal.
Boyd’s letter says the purchase contract was contingent upon school board approval, but the three-page contract does not refer to the need for board approval.
According to Boyd’s letter, Clay Christensen recognized the situation could be perceived as a conflict of interest under Idaho law, and “strict separation and recusal” were followed at every stage.
The letter also asked how the public should interpret the situation overall.
“While the relationship between the seller and a trustee may raise understandable questions, the safeguards in place followed ethics and conflicts of interest procedures under Idaho law, ensured that the process remained fair, independent, and free from influence,” the letter states. “The district acted with care to uphold transparency and accountability throughout.”
Read the district policy and state law:
- State statute 33-507 says a trustee shall not have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any district contract or transaction unless it qualifies under an exception listed in that section of code.
- District Policy 228 requires board members to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest in any matter that could result in the “private pecuniary gain” of a board member or their relative.
- The district policy states it is “unlawful” for the board to enter into any contract with a board member’s relative that involves payment of district funds unless the contract meets the requirements laid out in Idaho code, specifically 18-1361, 18-1361A and 74-502.
- Idaho Statute 18-1361A provides four procedures that must be “strictly observed” if a school board contracts with a trustee or relative of a trustee. The trustee must make a “full disclosure, in writing, to all members of the governing body, council or board of said public body of his interest or that of his relative and of his or his relative’s intention to bid on the contract.”
