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Superintendent reports ransomware attack and DOE notice that district missed teacher-salary funding floor
Summary
Superintendent Jeff Bates told the board the district experienced a ransomware attack that locked its student information system for about a week (no data breach reported) and that the Indiana Department of Education issued a notice requiring public acknowledgement that the district did not meet the prior fiscal-year teacher-salary funding floor.
Superintendent Jeff Bates informed the board that the district recently experienced a ransomware attack that disabled the student information system (Harmony) for about a week. He said IT staff rebuilt systems rather than pay a ransom. "We're not paying the ransom ... tech department ... had to rebuild everything," Bates said, and added that while systems are back up, some HVAC controls were affected and technicians were working to restore normal operation.
Bates also presented a formal notice from the Indiana Department of Education that the district did not meet the statutory requirement to spend at least the prior fiscal year's funding amount for full‑time teacher salaries. The board acknowledged receipt of the notice on the record, and the superintendent said the notice must be included in the board minutes and published on the district website within 30 days.
Board members asked clarifying questions about whether a data breach occurred; Bates said there was no data breach but the ransomware locked systems and required recovery work. The district’s technology team reported progress restoring services and addressing HVAC anomalies caused by the interruption.
The board requested updates on remediation steps and confirmation that the DOE notice has been posted to the district website in the required timeframe.
