Public commenter raises concerns about audits, PowerSchool breach, classroom supplies and administrative priorities

During the public‑comment portion of the meeting, speaker Patty Lanter urged the board to address trust and transparency concerns, citing audit limitations, a national PowerSchool data breach and what she described as imbalanced district spending priorities.

Lanter told the board that financial audits designed to identify accounting errors do not necessarily uncover waste or ethical concerns and urged the district to undertake analysis aimed at finding waste rather than relying solely on audits. She said, "We cannot place trust in an audit of last month that is designed to find accounting errors, not ethical dilemmas and violations." Lanter also raised concerns about district spending priorities and supply access for classroom teachers, saying teachers lack petty cash and needed supplies for lab and cooking classes.

On data privacy, Lanter said she was aware of a recent, nationwide PowerSchool compromise affecting students and teachers and asked the district to reconsider contracting decisions: "They admit they were compromised in an attack with student and teachers personal data including social security numbers and medical info stolen," she said, and asked whether the district needed more platforms or should better protect existing systems.

Lanter also queried how the bell‑time change has affected specific academic courses, including first‑period chemistry and calculus, and said she had been told seniors "will not reap the benefit of the schedule change," a remark she said warranted further explanation.

Board response and context

The board acknowledged the comments and moved to the next agenda item; no formal response or action on the points raised was recorded in the meeting minutes. Board members will have the opportunity to consider follow‑up questions or requests for information in subsequent meetings or through staff.