After discovery of dossier with parent info, Scottsdale school district announces investigation

The Scottsdale Unified School District on Friday announced it would be hiring an independent investigator to determine if school resources were used to create a private dossier that stored parents' personal information.

Superintendent Scott Menzel wrote in a letter sent to parents that the dossier was "allegedly created and maintained" in Google Drive folders by Mark Greenburg and shared by his son, SUSD Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg.

A copy of the Google Drive that parents created was obtained by The Arizona Republic and it included screenshots of Facebook conversations parents had about their opposition to topics such as critical race theory and COVID-19 mask mandates. It also included emails sent to school board members calling for Greenburg's resignation, photos and videos of parents protesting the school district and screenshots of parents' Facebook profiles that indicated their support for former President Donald Trump.

On Saturday morning, the Scottsdale Police Department said in a statement that it was investigating the allegations against Greenburg. "We are conducting an investigation into the matter and will report our findings once it is complete," the statement read.

"We want to determine if school resources were used inappropriately," Menzel wrote in his letter to parents. "We take our responsibility as good stewards of public funds very seriously."

Menzel said the district "did not create, maintain or have control over the dossier," which he said included data, photography and video that "appears to be largely from public documents."

"I want to stress, again, that no Governing Board member has unfettered access to student records," he wrote, adding that such documents are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Menzel said the district condemns "all actions that detract from our goal of educating our students" and that initiating an investigation into the matter would allow the district to continue its mission of educating students "with the highest level of integrity and transparency."

Greenburg did not immediately respond to The Republic's request for comment.

'My first reaction was horror'

Kim Stafford, the mother of a student formerly enrolled at the district, said she received an email that showed the link to the original Google Drive in mid-August.

She shared the email with other parents, one of whom opened the URL and "then proceeded to tell us, 'you need to see what's on here,'" Stafford told The Republic.

Stafford found a photo of her daughter from a private Facebook group on the drive, she said.

"Naturally, my first reaction was horror that a publicly-elected official would have such records on private citizens who were the parents of the students he represents in his district," she said. "But then, as a parent, when I saw a non-public picture of my then-13-year-old daughter in that file, then I was angry. And that's what prompted me to act."

Stafford said she was "disappointed" by the incident and added that she "really hope(s) that integrity can be restored to the board."

Sara Solem, the mother of two students enrolled at SUSD, said she was a strong advocate of offering in-person options for students while schools were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to her, this led to the creation of a Facebook group formed by parents, originally called “Return to in-person learning” and later changed its name to “SUSD Community Advocacy Network." Many of the screenshots and videos found in the copy of the drive were taken from this particular group.

Solem started a resignation letter that parents and community members have been sharing on social media since Wednesday. The letter has been signed by at least 1,200 parents as of Saturday afternoon, according to its creators.

In an email sent to parents, obtained by The Republic, SUSD governing board member Libby Hart Wells addresses Solem and others who signed the letter. She says she has requested a special meeting with the District "to be held at the earliest possible time ... and formally request Mr. Greenburg resign from the board."

A similar email obtained by The Republic shows board member Patty Beckman letting parents know that she requested the same kind of meeting.

The governing board issued a notice on Saturday of a special meeting to be held on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m at the Scottsdale Unified School District Mohave District Annex (8500 E Jackrabbit Road) A live stream of the meeting will be open to the public through the SUSD YouTube channel.

According to the meeting agenda, members of the governing board will discuss the election of a new board president and the adoption of consideration for the resignation of Greenburg.

Scottsdale police is asking anyone with information on the matter to call the Public Information Office at 480-312-5562.ublic.c

Reach breaking news reporters Laura Daniella Sepúvleda at lsepulveda@lavozarizona.com; Julie Luchetta at jluchetta@arizonarep

om; and BrieAnna J. Frank at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale school district investigating dossier with parent info