Settlement reached in Scottsdale school district dossier lawsuit
The parents who sued the Scottsdale Unified School District, a former board member and that board member's father over a digital dossier discovered in 2021 will receive $200,000, according to a settlement agreement approved by the district's governing board Tuesday.
In 2021, it came to light that Mark Greenburg, the father of then-school board President Jann-Michael Greenburg, kept a Google Drive of social media posts and information on some parents who were critical of the district.
Amanda Wray, a Scottsdale Unified parent whose information was kept in the Google Drive, filed a lawsuit against the Greenburgs and the school district in May 2022. Two parents of former Scottsdale Unified students were also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. One has since died.
The Scottsdale Unified School District governing board voted 3-0 to approve a settlement agreement. Board members Carine Werner and Amy Carney abstained from the vote. When the dossier was discovered, Carney was not yet on the board and accused the Greenburgs of "stalking parents and compiling information on them in a Google Drive instead of focusing on how they can better education in our district."
A copy of the Google Drive, created by parents who accessed the original, was obtained by The Arizona Republic in fall 2021. 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.
In the settlement, which was obtained by The Republic, Wray and Kimberly Stafford, the other plaintiff in the case, agreed to dismiss all claims. They'll receive $200,000 — $150,000 from the Greenburgs' insurer, $25,000 from the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust on behalf of Jann-Michael Greenburg and $25,000 from the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust on behalf of Scottsdale Unified School District. The School Risk Retention Trust is a nonprofit that provides property and liability coverage to member school districts and community colleges.
According to the agreement, Wray and Stafford no longer "have the right to assert any claim or lawsuit of any kind attempting to recover money or any other relief" against Scottsdale Unified or the Greenburgs "for any matter that occurred before the execution of this agreement."
The agreement also states that nothing within it "shall constitute or be treated as an admission of any wrongdoing or liability" by any of the parties.
The settlement will be final upon approval by the judge overseeing the case.
Background on the Google Drive lawsuit
Wray's lawsuit, filed in May 2022, alleged the Greenburgs and the school district retaliated against the plaintiffs for exercising their First Amendment rights. It also claimed members of the Greenburg family defamed them and violated their First Amendment rights. Other claims in the initial complaint were ultimately dismissed by the court.
"Although Mark ... is not a District official, he acted in concert with Jann-Michael ... and the District to chill Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights," the complaint alleged.
Scottsdale Unified sent a cease-and-desist letter to a private Facebook group called Scottsdale Unified Community Advocacy Network, or SUSD-CAN, to stop using the school district's name, according to the complaint. The Facebook group was formed in August 2020 to push for a return to in-person learning, and screenshots of the Facebook group were included in the Google Drive. Wray was an administrator of the Facebook group. The suit questioned whether another group faced similar demands.
A forensic investigation commissioned by the school district found no evidence that district resources were used in connection with the Google Drive folder. An investigation by the Scottsdale Police Department found that no criminal conduct under its jurisdiction was committed, and the Police Department said in a statement that the folder contained open-source and public documents.
Jann-Michael Greenburg was voted out as board president in November 2021. His term on the governing board ended in January 2023. He did not run for re-election.
In early 2022, Mark Greenburg filed lawsuits against Amanda Wray and her husband, Daniel Wray, in both federal court and Maricopa County Superior Court. In September 2023, the Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed Greenburg's complaint, finding that none of his claims — defamation, false light, intrusion upon seclusion and public disclosure of private facts — were legally viable.
The case in federal court is ongoing. It alleges Wray "engaged in a year's long campaign defaming, placing in a false light, and publishing private information" about Mark Greenburg to ferment the Facebook group members' "ever-increasing hatred" of his son.
Reach the reporter at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com.
Arizona Republic reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda and former Arizona Republic reporters Julie Luchetta, BrieAnna J. Frank and Renata Cló contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale parents will receive $200,000 for dossier lawsuit
