Transparency Portal
Welcome to Ozark School District's Transparency Portal! This online tool makes it easy for parents, students, staff and community members to find important information about our District. We strive for transparency in everything we do. We want our taxpayers to feel confident in knowing how we are spending your tax dollars and how we are educating the children in your community. By sharing these reports and documents, we aim to keep everyone in the loop and build a stronger, more connected community.
If you have something you would like us to consider adding to the Transparency Portal, please email ozarkcommunications@
- PowerSchool Data Breach + Updates
- Compliance with Missouri Election Laws: Board Election and Vacancy Appointment Process
- Hot Topics
- Annual Bus Inspections
- Food Inspections
- Lead Testing
PowerSchool Data Breach + Updates
Jan. 30, 2025
Ozark Families & Staff,
We are writing to update you regarding the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the software vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS).
Yesterday, Jan. 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 students and staff who had information compromised. PowerSchool is doing this regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number was compromised. 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.
Protecting our students and staff remains our top priority. Thank you again for all of your support and understanding during this time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Hedgecorth
Executive Director of Business Services
Jan. 22, 2025
Ozark School District Families and Staff,
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we address the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, our student information system.
PowerSchool has taken several steps to address the situation and support everyone affected. Here are some key updates:
- Complimentary Identity Protection Services
- Identity Protection: PowerSchool will be offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and staff members whose information was involved.
- Credit Monitoring: PowerSchool will also be offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring services for all students and staff whose information was involved.
- Individual Notifications
- PowerSchool will notify individuals whose information was affected, including students (or their parents/guardians if under 18) and Ozark staff members. Notifications will include details about how to activate these services.
- They are also handling notifications to relevant state authorities to help ease the administrative burden on families and the District.
- Community Support
- A dedicated call center, managed by PowerSchool and Experian, will be available to answer any questions. More information to come.
Further communication regarding this matter will come directly from PowerSchool. As soon as these notifications begin, Ozark School District will inform our families and staff so you can be on the lookout.
We are working closely with PowerSchool to safeguard your information and prevent future incidents. Thank you for your continued support and trust as we navigate this together.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Hedgecorth
Executive Director of Business Services
Staff - Jan. 16, 2025
Sent to Ozark staff Jan. 16, 2025
I wanted to send a follow up message in regards to credit monitoring from PowerSchool for the recent data breach. PowerSchool has informed districts that they are working with their legal team on their official response for credit monitoring, and that they will share information with all districts affected on Friday, January 17.
There have been some reports that individuals have received a message about credit monitoring from PowerSchool. Please note that there has been no official implementation of credit monitoring at this time, and if you received an email, it was most likely a phishing attempt.
Once we receive official information about credit monitoring from PowerSchool, we will communicate with all staff. We will also post any new public information about the situation to our Transparency Portal on our district website - www.ozarktigers.org/transparencyportal
Thank you for your patience as we work through this situation with PowerSchool.
--
Robert Hedgecorth, Ed. D., SFO
Executive Director of Finance and Business Services
Ozark School District
Families - Jan. 16, 2025
Sent to Ozark families Jan. 16, 2025
There have been some reports that individuals are receiving messages about credit monitoring from PowerSchool. Please note that there has been no official implementation of credit monitoring at this time, and if you received an email, it was most likely a phishing attempt. If PowerSchool sends a message we will be sure to follow it with confirmation.
We will also post any new public information about the situation to our Transparency Portal on our district website - www.ozarktigers.org/transparencyportal
--
Ozark School District
Jan. 14, 2025
Sent to Ozark families and staff Jan. 14, 2025
We are writing to inform you about a PowerSchool data breach that has impacted our district and many others across the state, nation and globe. PowerSchool, the company that provides the student information system for the Ozark School District, has notified us of a cybersecurity incident affecting their global systems. The breach involved unauthorized access to their data systems between Dec. 19 - 28, 2024. Our staff and student information was among the information that was compromised.
This situation is deeply concerning, and we are actively working to obtain more information. We want to share what we currently know about this incident and its potential impact on Ozark students and staff.
Summary of Events
On Jan. 7, 2025, PowerSchool informed us that a threat actor compromised their company-level security. This actor accessed multiple districts’ data, including Ozark School District, using a remote support tool. PowerSchool has assured us that the incident has been contained, and there is no evidence of continued unauthorized activity. They have implemented several security measures to protect their clients. Our local review aligns with the timelines provided by PowerSchool regarding unauthorized access.
PowerSchool has shared the following updates:
- They do not anticipate that the data will be shared or made public. PowerSchool has partnered with multiple cybersecurity vendors to contain and respond to the threat. They believe the accessed data has been irrevocably destroyed without replication or dissemination.
- PowerSchool is collaborating with a cybersecurity technology company to monitor the public domain and ensure the data is not being redistributed.
- Federal agencies are investigating to identify those responsible.
What Data Was Affected?
The breach involved the downloading of student and staff demographic data stored in the Ozark School District PowerSchool system, including:
- Student/Staff names
- Student/Staff addresses
- Student/Staff phone numbers
- Student/Staff email addresses
- Student/Staff date of births
- Student ID numbers
- Staff ID numbers
- Staff ONLY Social Security numbers
The following data was NOT compromised:
- Passwords
- Credit card information
- Legal documents used during student registration
- Photos
- Educational records
- Student health records (except for health alerts included in demographic data, such as allergies)
- Student social security numbers were NOT compromised
Social Security numbers and staff dates of birth stored in the compromised system were accessed. However, PowerSchool has indicated that all downloaded data has been destroyed at this time.
Next Steps
On Jan. 9, we participated in a webinar hosted by PowerSchool’s senior executives to learn more. Here are the key updates:
- We are waiting for PowerSchool to confirm the option of offering credit monitoring to those affected. Details will be shared soon.
- Since no passwords were accessed for student, staff, or parent portal accounts, there is no need for password changes at this time.
- A lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) was a contributing factor in this breach. This incident did not involve user accounts within the Ozark School District.
Recommended Actions for Families and Staff
In the meantime, we encourage you to take the following precautions:
- Monitor your accounts: Watch for any suspicious activity in your district-related accounts. Report concerns to the tech support team at your building or email powerschoolinformation@ozarktigers.org.
- Be cautious of phishing attempts: Avoid responding to unexpected emails or calls requesting personal or school information.
The Ozark School District is committed to safeguarding our systems and preventing future cybersecurity issues. We are taking this situation very seriously and we are working with the appropriate parties to minimize this impact and prevent future incidents. As PowerSchool provides further updates, we will share them with you, as well as post it on our Transparency Portal at ozarktigers.org/transparencyportal. You may also receive updates directly from PowerSchool.
Thank you for your understanding and vigilance as we navigate this issue.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lori Wilson, Superintendent
Dr. Robert Hedgecorth, Executive Director of Business Services
Compliance with Missouri Election Laws: Board Election and Vacancy Appointment Process
The Ozark R-VI School District has no authority to “reconsider” the rules that govern filing for and election to the Board of Education. That process is governed entirely by state statutory and case law:
- Missouri law requires the Board of Education to publish notice of the election on or before the 17th Tuesday preceding the election. That deadline for the April 2025 election was December 10, 2024.
- Missouri law also requires the Board to include the following information in the published notice: (1) the opening filing date, (2) the office or offices to be filled, (3) the place for filing, and (4) the closing date for filing.
- As required by law, the district published timely notice that (1) two seats would be open for the April 2025 election; (2) the first date for filing would be December 10, 2024; (3) the location for filing was the district office; and (4) the closing date for filing would be December 31, 2024.
- Once that notice was published and the filing period had begun, the number of seats to be filled by election in April was final. Additional vacancies could not be added because the statutory notice requirement for any additional seat could not be fulfilled.
- There is no method by which an individual can file for a vacancy that did not exist and was not published prior to the filing period.
- Therefore, there is no mechanism by which an individual’s name can appear on the ballot in April of 2025 for the unexpired term.
- The fact that an appointee can serve until April 2026 under the current circumstances is solely a result of the requirement that candidates file for office in the manner prescribed by the General Assembly for each April election.
- These requirements are part of a larger statutory framework adopted by the General Assembly that is intended to protect the integrity of all elections. These requirements are mandatory, not merely directory, and must be honored.
Therefore, an individual may not request to file for a vacancy that did not exist when the notice of election was published. Additionally, a person may not request to be placed on the ballot for a vacancy that will not exist until after filing has closed. For example, in this case, the resignation was not effective until December 31, 2024. The notice of resignation was provided on December 19, but the effective date was December 31. The Board has no authority to declare a date of resignation earlier than the effective date in the notice.
In summary, the school district is not bypassing the April 2025 election. It is just following the notification and filing requirements established under the election laws adopted by the Missouri General Assembly. The district was required by law to publish a notice of election on or before December 10, 2024. That notice, as required by law, listed the number of open seats to be filled in the April 2025 election, as that number existed when the notice was published – specifically, two seats. The district cannot accept candidate filings for a vacancy that did not exist and was not included in the election notice that preceded the filing period. And in this case, the vacancy will not even exist until after the filing period has closed. Therefore, there is no mechanism to place the vacancy on the April 2025 ballot. That is the only reason that a person appointed to fill the new vacancy would serve until April 2026. The district is not excluding voters from the process. It is just following the law. The Board had no authority previously and has no authority now to declare and accept filing for a third open seat for the April 2025 election.
With respect to the residency issue, the board also has no authority to remove or expel a board member for residency or any other reason. That action must be taken by a court. However, Missouri law concerning residency and removal of elected officials favors the officials -- and it is very difficult to prevail in such actions (which are long, drawn out, time-consuming, and expensive for the plaintiff). For example, some will remember that the Missouri Supreme Court found that former Governor Kit Bond was found eligible to run for governor in 1972 (which office had and has a ten-year, in-state residency requirement) – although he had been absent from the state for the majority of the immediately preceding ten years and all of the typical factors regarding residency (voting, job locations, marriage license, vehicle registrations, physical residence locations, etc.), indicated that he was not eligible to run. Subsequent cases regarding officeholder and candidate residency, including cases directly involving school board members, have resulted in similar decisions.
As explained above, the district is just following the law. However, it is also making an effort to include interested individuals in the process. The law requires the Board to appoint a replacement. But the law neither prohibits nor requires an application process. That process is optional under Board policy. Nevertheless, the Board has adopted and published on its website a process by which interested individuals may submit an application for appointment to the vacancy and provide as much information as they wish in support of the application. We encourage all interested persons to engage in the application process.
Hot Topics
Annual Bus Inspections
Section 307.375, RSMo. requires that school buses be safety inspected annually by an official motor vehicle safety inspection station. The Missouri State Highway Patrol conducts annual bus inspections at school districts across the state each spring. The Patrol then releases the results on its website.
The Ozark School District Transportation Department includes more than 70 employees who all have a passion for students. On average, the department runs 60 buses and transports 3,100+ students daily, totaling about 654,000 annual miles.
For questions, contact the Ozark School District Transportation Department at (417) 582-4735.
Food Inspections
The Christian County Health Department inspects Ozark School District’s kitchen in each school building at least twice each school year. Ozark School District Nutrition Services has approximately 60 employees who strive to remain in compliance with state and local food handling safety regulations, all while building relationships with students.
Christian County Health Department Food Inspections
For questions, contact the Ozark School District Nutrition Services Department at (417) 582-5967.
Lead Testing
In 2022, the Missouri legislature passed the Get the Lead out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077), which sets standards for lead concentrations in school drinking water. The law requires schools to conduct inventory, sampling, remediation and monitoring at all potable drinking water outlets used or potentially used for drinking, food preparation, and cooking or cleaning utensils. Under the law, the deadline to complete initial testing is August 2024.
In April 2024, Ozark School District, through Terracon Consultants, Inc., tested 1,097 outlets across the District, including drinking fountains, bathroom and kitchen sinks, classroom faucets, and bottle fillers. Terracon presented the District with the drinking water testing results on June 11, 2024.
If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dr. Curtis Chesick at curtischesick@ozarktigers.org.