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Public and board members clash over data breach, investigations and conduct
Summary
Public commenters and board members raised concerns about a calendar-related data breach, district investigations and board conduct; a board member read a written complaint and defended her actions during a lengthy exchange.
During public participation on Jan. 9 several residents urged the Talawanda City School District to address a recent data breach and to increase transparency about investigations and spending.
Scottie King told the board she believed two investigations cost about $20,000 and argued the money could have been spent on student programs. "How many students would this money have helped?" she asked, and urged the board to consider free lunches and reduced fees.
Another speaker, Ivan Carver of Hanover Township, called for an apology and process changes after what he described as a district calendar data breach that exposed IEPs and disciplinary information to families. "Your policy does not trump First Amendment rights," Carver said while urging the district to notify affected families and to institute more restrictive default IT settings. He said the district repeatedly blamed Google, but told the board that the pattern of open and closed settings indicated the problem was not a Google platform failure.
Mike Dittman, also of Hanover Township, pressed the board to address the district's per‑pupil cost and to look at how peer districts spend more efficiently.
Later in the meeting, board member Mrs. King read a written complaint she said had been filed against her and used her time on the record to respond. In a lengthy statement she denied improper actions, said she had consulted personal legal counsel on some matters and defended contacting building administrators in her role as a liaison. "As I disclosed at the December board meeting, there's no policy that prevents a board member from reaching out to administrators," she said. (Mrs. King)
Board president Dr. Rebecca Howard said the complaint stands and noted it is a public record. Other trustees spoke against public discussion of security vulnerabilities. One trustee said publicly airing security concerns could give bad actors opportunities to cause harm and urged that security issues be resolved first and disclosed only after safeguards are in place.
The board did not take formal action on the public comments that night. Several speakers asked the district to notify families whose records may have been exposed; district staff said they will follow public records and notification requirements but did not provide a timeline at the meeting.
