Wheeler School Board Gets Update on PowerSchool Security Breach
LIGHTS ARE ON — New show lights have been installed at the Wheeler County School’s football, left, and baseball, right, fields. The project replaces aging poles and obsolete lighting at a cost of $509,000.
By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com
The Wheeler County School district is among five area school districts that could be affected by a PowerSchool data breach. PowerSchool, which provides the Student Information System software for these school systems, recently informed customers of the security incident.
Superintendent Dr. Alex Alvarez provided information about the incident to the Wheeler County Board of Education, which met January 13 for its regular session.
PowerSchool, which manages information on students’ academics, behavioral issues, attendance and more said on its website that some social security numbers and medical information may have been involved. Some media outlets reported the hack also included names, birthdays, and addresses.
In addition to Wheeler County, the PowerSchool software is used on the websites of Bleckley County, Wilkinson County, Dodge County, and Wilcox County. All together those districts have roughly 13,000 students and staff. The data could also include alumni and ex-staff, some media outlets have reported. PowerSchool said it became aware of the breach on December 28, 2024. Dr. Alvarez said that Wheeler County was notified January 9, and shared information about the incident on the system’s Facebook page.
PowerSchool said it has hired external cybersecurity experts to help investigate and may offer credit monitoring or identity protection services to people affected by the breach. At this time, the company said the incident has been contained and there is no indication that the information has been leaked online, according to some media reports.
Dr. Alvarez said that he and his staff have been working with technology partners in investigating this issue and stressed that the school system has excellent additional cybersecurity and safety options. He noted that Wheeler County School District remains committed to safeguarding the data of its students, staff, and families and will continue to communicate openly and transparently about this situation. He said the system is waiting for the ongoing investigation to determine what data was accessed.
The Lights Are On!
Director of School System Facilities Greg Wilcher provided some great news to the Board during the January meeting. The new lights are on at the school football and baseball fields.
On July 8, 2024, the Board approved a contract with Musco Lighting to install LED lighting and metal poles for both fields at a cost of $509,000. Graham Electric of Dublin installed the new lighting, starting with the baseball field. There, the aging poles had to be replaced because of safety reasons, and the lighting was outdated and becoming obsolete. The contract includes a 25-year warranty for the state-ofthe art lighting, which comes with show light capabilities.
Completing electrical hookups was delayed because of Hurricane Helene, which swept through at the end of September and kept local electrical crews busy restoring power throughout the area. But it looks like the system will make its deadline for lighting to be in place in time for baseball season.
Wilcher also told the Board that most of the repairs to system structures impacted by Hurricane Helene have been completed.
Other Matters
The second of two hearings on HB 581 was scheduled during the Board’s evening session on January 13; however, no members of the public appeared to ask questions or to make comments. The first public hearing was held at noon on the same date, and was attended by Glenwood Mayor G.M. Joiner, who was briefed on the bill. A third public hearing will be held on February 10 at 6:30 p.m., the next regularly scheduled meeting date for the Board.
The hearings are being held as a requirement of the Board’s decision to opt out of the legislation. The recently-approved statewide measure will impact how education is financially supported in the community in the years ahead. HB 581 establishes a state- continued from page
wide floating homestead exemption that limits the annual increase in property tax assessments on homesteaded properties.
This cap took effect on January 1, but local governments were afforded the choice of opting out of this exemption. To do so, they must adopt a resolution by March 1, 2025, after conducting three public hearings and advertising these hearings in legal organs and on their websites. Opting out allows local governments to maintain local control over their property tax policies, enabling them to tailor tax rates and exemptions to their specific needs and conditions.
The Board reelected Chair Michael Morrison and Vice Chair Judy Benton Browning for new terms, and also adopted a new school calendar.
The Board approved the following personnel changes: the resignation of paraprofessional Brooke Hancock, and the hiring of Summer Taylor as her replacement; hiring Roslynn Hamilton as a substitute instructor, pending a background check; and hiring Kerri Ellis as a food service employee.
