Parents are calling for the resignation of a Scottsdale, Arizona, school district official who was alleged to have access to a dossier of private information and photos of parents and children in the district.
A group of mothers allegedly found Scottsdale Unified School District’s (SUSD) Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg had access to “a Google Drive full of personal information, documents, and photos of about 47 people, including children,” a report at AZ Free News said Wednesday.
Though SUSD apparently sent out an email Wednesday night to assure families their private and education information is safe, the district also laid blame on Mark Greenburg, the father of the Governing Board president, for the digital dossier site.
Amy Carney, a mother of six who is running for a seat on the Governing Board in 2022, called for Greenburg to step down.
“I am calling for the immediate resignation of our board president Jann-Michael Greenburg,” she said. “We cannot allow anyone in a leadership position to secretly compile personal documents and information on moms and dads who have dared speak out publicly or on social media about their grievances with the district.”
According to the news report, records of a special SUSD board meeting held on August 17 revealed Jann-Michael Greenburg said he shared a computer with his father, Mark.
“With Mark and Jann-Michael sharing a computer and a home, there is no way to know which of them has been uploading files (now known as the “G Files”) to the drive, according to concerned parents,” the report noted.
Some parents have reportedly said they believe Jann-Michael has shared information in the files in order to intimidate some parents, characterizing that alleged behavior as an “unacceptable abuse of power.”
The Google Drive file also reportedly contained information on parents from nearby school districts and conservative radio host, James T. Harris.
“We request President Greenburg’s resignation from the Governing Board effective immediately for this and other recent embarrassments to our district,” Carney said.
Attorney Alexander Kolodin of the Davillier Law Group also weighed in on the issues at SUSD:
These allegations are deeply troubling, especially as concerns the photography of a minor child without parental consent and the taking down of license plate numbers of parents who Mr. Greenburg supposedly perceived as political opponents. Mr. Greenburg is an elected member of the school board. If such a photograph was taken with his express or tacit consent, he would potentially be liable for violations of Arizona’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which recognizes a parent’s “fundamental” right to consent before the government makes a video or voice recording of the minor child.
Kolodin mentioned the additional report of Mark Greenburg “engaged in some acts while keeping his face hidden under a helmet and while wearing motorcycle gear,” AZ Free News reported.
“Both Arizona and the federal government have laws prohibiting both intimidation generally and voter intimidation in particular,” Kolodin explained.
“If these allegations are true, Mr. Greenburg and his father might be liable for violating one or more of these laws – though it is difficult to say from the limited facts that have been reported and they must, of course, be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” he said.