The school board voted unanimously to send a letter to the AG, which was requested by board member Alan Rummel during their Tuesday, Feb. 11 meeting.
PowerSchool is an educational software provider based in Folsom, Calif. that runs the most commonly used student information system in U.S. schools, according to Education Week.
According to reports, the data breach began Dec. 19 and ran through Dec. 28, 2024. School districts were notified about the breach on Jan. 11 and 12.
During the board meeting on Tuesday, attorney Stephen Rawson called it an "internationally initiated incident" and called it "very serious."
It contained 12 years' worth of data of staff and students, he said. In North Carolina, it affected 300,000 school staff members. In Lee County, it affected school staff and the Social Security numbers of 910 charter school students, according to Rawson.
He added that he was told that the comprised data was subsequently destroyed by those who took it.
He noted that those affected are being given free credit monitoring by PowerSchool.
Rawson said there's nothing that LCS or the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction could have done to prevent the breach, which occurred when a PowerSchool contractor's account was compromised.
Rawson said that other school districts are considering legal action against PowerSchool.
According to Public Information Officer James Alverson, LCS began using PowerSchool in 2013 when NCDPI began using it as the statewide student information system. LCS stopped using PowerSchool on June 30, 2024 when it started using Infinite Campus as part of a pilot program.
"NCDPI is in the process of transitioning every district in the state to Infinite Campus," Alverson said in an email.
BRANCHING MINDS
As part of new business, the LCS Board approved a $79,963 contract with Branching Minds for educational software for the next school year. Alverson said Branching Minds will supplement Infinite Campus.
According to an agenda document, Branching Minds provides a comprehensive K-12 educational platform that fosters personalized learning solutions for teachers and students.
Stefanie Clarke, director of accountability, planning and performance, said Branching Minds will provide tools for teachers to take action in regard to helping students.
Branching Minds will be utilized for information that's currently stored on several platforms, Clarke said, adding that the latter is time consuming and "limits our ability to track progress in real time."
She said students' attendance and behavior can be used in Branching Minds platform.
She noted that LCS considered four companies for the new contract, including PowerSchool, Panorama and Abre.
Dossenbach said the funding is available due to a change in curriculum. "We spent much more than $79,000 previously," he said.
"I think this is a really great step," Rummel said, calling Branching Minds "a powerful tool."
Board Chair Sherry Lynn Womack and Clarke said school principals and teachers are excited about the product.
BUDGET
The school board will have a public hearing at 5 p.m. on the proposed 2025-26 budget followed by a budget work session on Monday, Feb. 17.
© 2025 The Sanford Herald (Sanford, N.C.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
