Thermopolis schools among thousands affected PowerSchool data breach

During Superintendent Dustin Hunt’s report at the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 16, he spoke about a data breach which victimized PowerSchool, a tech company that provides schools with software for storing student/staff information.

The company’s software is used in schools across the globe, including those in Thermopolis. Information Technology Director Josh Taylor said, “PowerSchool supports over 60 million students – they have over 18,000 customers in over 90 countries… This is a company-wide breach.”

Taylor stated that an anonymous attacker was able to infiltrate PowerSchool’s system by falsely using support agent credentials in late December and allegedly obtained identifying information from a large portion — or potentially all — of PowerSchool’s customers. Information obtained by the attacker includes names, addresses, phone numbers, medical records and in some cases social security numbers.

Taylor added that a total of 4,222 records from students who attended Thermopolis schools between 2002 and 2024 were affected. Records kept from 2002 to 2020 included social security numbers, but the district stopped keeping records of them after that year.

According to Taylor, PowerSchool agreed to negotiate ransom terms with the attacker, and once they received payment, the attacker allegedly deleted the stolen information before it could be further leaked or sold.

TOP SCHOOL

Thermopolis Middle School Principal Darren Luebbe was happy to share that Thermopolis Middle School was named the number one middle school in Wyoming for the second year in a row at the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 16. The rankings are given by U.S. News and World Report.

Luebbe said, “It’s kind of a big deal because these guys put an amazing amount of work in, in a lot of different ways. They continually come in every day and show that they can overcome the challenges in front of them, and they help all of our kids do incredible things. So I want to give a huge shoutout to them [middle school staff] because I don’t think they are thanked enough.”

“The second group I want to thank is our students. They come each and every day with a vigor and a want to get better. We ask a lot of them, but when they come to school ready to learn, with the right attitude and a willingness to put in that work, I know that our staff can get them to do amazing things that ultimately will allow them to have successful futures,” he added.

4-DAY SCHOOL?

Hunt said his district would be deciding on the possibility of a four-day school, which, if put into effect, would start in the 2025-2026 school year. He said that the district had until May 1 to submit a proposal to the Wyoming Department of Education for the change and will be taking feedback from other districts and members of their community to inform their final decision.

STAFFING

The following staffing recommendations were approved:

Amy Culbreath as Title I paraprofessional, Justin Spence as crossing guard, and Rick Welfl as temporary snow removal technician.

Change of status: Anderson Borgen is now a full-time kitchen manager.

POLICIES

Three policies were approved on third and final reading:

Policy GD – Classified Staff Policies, this removes the language that the board and administration retain the right to change the content of the policy manual with or without notice.

Policy GDB – Classified Staff Salaries and Fringe Benefits, clarifies language

Policy GDBA – Classified Staff Salary Schedules, clarifies language.

Eight policies were approved on second reading and final reading:

Policy BBB-R updates board members and when terms expire; Policy GDBD, increases the number of credits for reimbursement from six to 12 and increases the rate of reimbursement from $100 to $150; Policy GDC, removes language on medical insurance from this policy regarding leave; Policy GDC-R, clarifies language; Policy GDM, regarding classified staff development allowing for classified staff to attending trainings without loss of pay; Policy GDO, clarifies language; Policy GDQB, clarifies language regarding leave upon resignation; and Policy IB on academic freedom fixes a typographical error.

Five policies were approved for revision on first reading:

Policy GDBC, regarding overtime pay, clarifies language; Policy GDJ, regarding classified staff assignments and transfers, clarifies language; Policy IGA, regarding curriculum development, clarifies language; Policy IHB on special instructional programs, updates language; and Policy IHBF, updates homebound instruction with new procedures requiring an application for homebound instruction if a student will be “out of school due to injury or illness for more than one week.”

The former policy was two paragraphs. The new policy is two full pages long.

Nine policies were reviewed, with no changes recommended.