District remains silen on details

           Without discussion, the Upper Perkiomen School Board voted last week to ratify an engagement letter with a Chester County law firm related to the district's recent network outage. The members unanimously approved the agreement with Mullen Coughlin, LLC, of Devon, during the March 28 workshop meeting.

            However, administrators continued to avoid disclosing any details related to last month's incident. A district spokesperson declined to answer multiple questions regarding its relationship with the firm. After the meeting, Superintendent Allyn Roche did not directly answer a question about the nature of the outage discovered on March 12.

            The firm is described on its website as "uniquely dedicated exclusively to representing organizations facing data privacy events, information security incidents, and the need to address these risks before a crisis hits."

            Its team claims to have handled "thousands of events and possess experience and talent in data breach response, regulatory investigation defense, pre-breach planning and compliance, and privacy litigation defense unmatched in the industry."

            Responding to a question about the possibility that the district was hacked, Roche said after the meeting that administrators continue to work through the process of resolving issues related to the outage. He added that he was happy that student laptops were returned to all 10th, 11th and 12th graders before spring break. The superintendent also stated that all classrooms have regained full internet access.

            In an email message received the day after the meeting, district spokesperson Alexis Jenofsky declined to address a series of questions related to the engagement letter. They included what services the firm is providing for the district, any financial arrangements between the entities and when the district first contacted the firm.

            "The district does not have any comment at this time," Jenofsky wrote in the message, received at 11:45 a.m. on March 29.

            On Monday, the Town and Country newspaper field a Right to Know request with the district seeking a copy of the letter, email and all other correspondence between school board members or the superintendent and representatives from Mullen Coughlin as well as any invoices from the firm to the school district and any payments made from the school district to the entity.

            In personnel news, the board voted to accept the resignation of two support staff workers and appointed three.  Anita Van Zile, a food service worker, left the district last Friday, while the final day for Michelle Yoder, a paraprofessional, is April 5.

            The members appointed three new cafeteria/playground aides. Melissa Furey and Kristina Phin will work at Hereford Elementary, while Todd Molinaro has been assigned to the 4th & 5th Grade Center, according to the meeting agenda.

            The board also approved three new bus drivers. Gregory Young, Charles Haig and Elaine Zimmerman will join the Krise Transportation Staff during the current school year.

            Vice President Peg Pennepacker cast the lone vote against approving supplemental contracts for a pair of athletic seasonal spring game managers. During a previous board meeting, she expressed her opposition to the administration's process of hiring game managers, ticket takers and event workers.

            The member also described the number of people approved for those positions as potentially excessive. Last week, Pennepacker said she was not satisfied with the answers provided by administrators prior to casting her vote.

            "There's still some work to be done," she said.

            Pennepacker also voted against an action item to spend an additional $3,615 for the installation of netting at the varsity softball field. The change order to Tri-Boro Fencing Contractors Inc., of Walnutsport, is necessary to alter the location of the net.

            She said the payment should come from the district's athletic department funds rather than its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Prior to the vote, Roche stated that the district would lose any of that money, allocated through the American Rescue Plan of 2021, not obligated by the end of September.

            Member Sarah Bieber did not attend the meeting which lasted 40 minutes.

            According to Solicitor Kyle Somers, the board met virtually in executive session on March 18, March 21 and March 25 to consult with legal counsel and discuss a matter of school security.  He also stated that the members also met in executive session immediately prior to the workshop meeting to discuss a matter of collective bargaining between the district and the Upper Perkiomen Education Association and a matter of litigation involving a tax assessment appeal.