Mecklenburg schools report cybersecurity incident, expand school safety officers and update Chase City project
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Summary
Administrators told the school board a cybersecurity incident that began Aug. 29 disrupted grade reporting and delayed interim reports; the board heard updates on the School Safety Officer program, the district crisis and safety template and Chase City Elementary construction.
Mecklenburg County school administrators told the school board that a cybersecurity incident beginning Aug. 29 disrupted district systems, delayed interim progress reports and prompted a one-week postponement of secondary parent-teacher conferences.
"We experienced the cybersecurity incident, which began on August 29," a staff member said during the public meeting, noting that the board had received a protected update in closed session. As a result, interim reports originally scheduled for last Friday were moved to the following Friday, and the secondary parent-teacher conferences were rescheduled for the coming Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Administrators said delays were caused by the inability to enter grades and run reports while systems were being restored.
The board also received substantive updates on school safety. Administrators described the School Safety Officer (SSO) program, launched last school year, and said the district is at or near four full-time SSOs plus one part-time SSO assigned to the complex. The staff member said SSOs help monitor cameras, manage student intake and parking, support afternoon and evening athletic events and generally relieve administrators of logistical duties. Named SROs and SSOs on the high-school side include Omar Bowers and Pearson DeJardin; Cammie Minor and Jean (last name not specified) were identified for middle-school coverage.
District administrators said the division has prepared a school crisis and safety plan template — roughly 100 pages — for use by each school. The plan was developed with input from the division’s criminal-justice department and will be provided to schools as an information item; it is not a board action at this meeting.
Construction updates for Chase City Elementary were provided: demolition work is underway on site, materials are being stored temporarily at the high school (the former auto mechanics lab), and district staff will inventory stored items and report back to the board. Administrators indicated they expect additional site photos and a fuller update in November.
Administrators also noted that Mecklenburg County Middle School was randomly selected for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing. Board members were told the division will not release preliminary test scores until state validations are complete and expects finalized results in October.
Several board members and administrators publicly thanked teachers, technology staff and outside consultants for their work restoring systems. The district’s technology team members named in the meeting record include Josh Adams, Ron Goodwin and Ashley Smith, along with instructional-technology resource teachers who assisted during the disruption.
