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Category: General

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Powerschool Update

Dear Valued Customers:

We are writing to inform you of a recent development related to the cybersecurity incident PowerSchool experienced in December 2024.

PowerSchool recently became aware that a threat actor has reached out to some PowerSchool SIS customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident. We do not believe this is a new incident, but we wanted our customers to be informed, nonetheless.

As you all are likely aware, in the days following our discovery of the December 2024 incident, we made the decision to pay a ransom because we believed it to be in the best interest of our customers and the students and communities we serve. It was a difficult decision, which our leadership team did not make lightly. As is always the case with these situations, there was a risk that the bad actors would not delete the data they stole, despite assurances and evidence that were provided to us.

In light of this, I want to take a moment to remind you all that following the December 2024 incident, PowerSchool also offered and made widely available credit monitoring and identity protection services for a period of two years to students and faculty of our PowerSchool SIS customers, regardless of whether they were individually involved. We encourage you all to take this opportunity to remind your communities that these services are still available. If you choose to send an update to your families and educators, we have included a suggested message for you to send below.

As a reminder, information about credit monitoring and identity protection services and enrollment can be found on our website:

For customers in the U.S.: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/

For customers in Canada: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-canada-data-breach/


We sincerely regret the occurrence of the 2024 incident. We will continue supporting our valued customers and law enforcement as we work through this together. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your CSM.

Sincerely,
Hardeep Gulati
Chief Executive Officer, PowerSchool

Dear families and educators of the Aberdeen community:

We are writing to inform you of a recent development related to the cybersecurity incident PowerSchool experienced in December 2024.

PowerSchool is aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident. PowerSchool does not believe this is a new incident.

Please be assured that both PowerSchool and Aberdeen School District are taking this situation very seriously. PowerSchool has informed us they are working with cybersecurity experts to thoroughly assess this development and have reported it to law enforcement in both Canada and the United States.

As a reminder, following that incident PowerSchool also offered and made widely available credit monitoring and identity protection services for a period of two years to students and faculty Aberdeen School District regardless of whether they were individually involved. We encourage all those who were offered these services to take advantage of them:

For individuals in the U.S.: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/


As was reported earlier this year, PowerSchool made the decision to pay a ransom because they believed it to be in the best interest of their customers and the students and communities they serve. As is always the case with these situations, there was a risk that the bad actors would not delete the data they stole, despite assurances and evidence that were provided PowerSchool.

We wanted to share this update as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency. We remain committed to working closely with PowerSchool and law enforcement to provide support in any way we can.

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Facts Regarding Student Immigration Status

Dear Parents,

Recently I have heard concerns over whether the school district will allow law enforcement into the schools to remove students due to immigration status. Below is the facts concerning how the schools gather information on students within the district.

Idaho’s public schools do not collect and have not been required to gather information related to the immigration status of students or their family members. Historically, schools have not been allowed to ask questions about immigration status. Because the information is not collected, it cannot be provided to any law enforcement agency. Further, as when responding to any request for student data, schools must continue to follow the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Idaho Code section 33-133.

I know many families are concerned about the future. Please know that the schools within the district will remain a place for your students to be safe and receive a good education. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the schools or the district office.

Best Regards,

Jane Ward

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Power School Breach

I encourage you to visit https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/ for up-to-date information on the cybersecurity incident. We care deeply about the welfare of our Aberdeen School District families and will continue to do everything we can to support you. Thank you for the important role you play in our community and your shared commitment to putting our students first.

Aberdeen School District

Latest Update from PowerSchool:

Today, January 29, 2025, PowerSchool initiated the process of notifying individuals whose information was determined to be involved.

As previously mentioned, PowerSchool has engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to provide complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to current and former students and educators that had information exfiltrated from PowerSchool SIS. PowerSchool is doing this regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number was exfiltrated. In the coming weeks, Experian (on behalf of PowerSchool) will be distributing direct email notifications to involved individuals (or their parent/guardian, as applicable) for whom PowerSchool has sufficient contact information.

Additionally, PowerSchool has worked with Experian to set up a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer any questions associated with these offerings and the incident. All the information regarding the activation of and access to these services will be included in the email sent to you by Experian. Whether or not you receive an email, you may also visit PowerSchool’s website to learn how to activate the offering from Experian, linked here: http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/.

Protecting our students and teachers remains our top priority. Thank you again for all of your support and understanding during this time.

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Tiger Pause – Contingency

Christmas is a great time of year for faculty staff and students.  We all anxiously await the Christmas time festivities that we enjoy as a community, school, and family.  With the celebration of Christmas also comes the planning for a new year.  We are very grateful for the patrons that help support our school system.  With the new year in mind, I thought I would explain an element of the budgeting process that often we neglect to discuss. 

A school district is required to carry a contingency fund.  This fund varies from district to district, but Aberdeen School District has in policy that suggests 15% of the general fund should be available throughout the school year in a contingency fund. The district does reach that goal, but seldom carries the 15% throughout the year.  This amount is determined by following the best practices suggested by our auditor to our school board of trustees and Moody’s which is a firm that evaluates government entities and businesses to give them a credit rating.  The auditor suggests that the school have at least 2 months of payroll and expenditures held in the contingency fund.  Moody’s suggests that the district maintain a 15% fund balance.  Both entities along with the State of Idaho require certain procedures be followed when spending funds.  Checks must have a paper trail indicating how the funds were spent.

Each year the school district is audited by an independent auditor.  The auditor goes through our books to assure the trustees and the community that the funds coming into the school district are used in accordance with the law. The State of Idaho provides funds for the school district to operate, however sometimes the State will not pay the school district until the funds have been spent. This is one reason the school district tries to maintain the 15% contingency fund.  The district will use the contingency fund until they receive money back from the State.

Moody’s is another entity that looks at the financial health of the school district each year to determine the overall stability of the school district. When the public was asked to pass a bond, the interest rate was determined by the financial stability of the district as determined by Moody’s. 

The contingency fund varies because it is also used to pay for unexpected expenses such as our current roof repairs, boiler repairs and replacement of the siding on the old high school. When we present the budget to the public it reflects the funds at that specific time. Generally, it is the time that the funds have been recently sent to the school district from the state of Idaho and the funds have not yet been spent.  Fuel prices are a good example of how the budget can vary.  As prices go up for fuel our budget may not have planned for that increase and as fuel prices go down the same occurs. Utilities are another variable.  On cold years we spend more on utilities. The budget is the best guess we have of what to plan for during the upcoming school year.  The contingency fund is a safeguard that assures the public that the school district has planned for unforeseen circumstances.

The superintendent works very closely with the school board of trustees to assure the funds that are being used are in the best interest of the public.  The financial books are open for the public to review in the district office. Each month the school board is presented the bills that have been paid according to the budget and a spreadsheet that shows what percent of the budget has been spent and conversely what is available to spend.

As we end the year with the Christmas holidays, we begin to anticipate what the new year may bring. Our goal continues to be to maintain the funds to educate the students of Aberdeen School District in a safe environment with a well-rounded education.