Arizona’s Attorney General sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding the Department of Justice and FBI open an investigation into a Scottsdale-area school board member who allegedly had access to a dossier with parents’ personal information.
Arizona AG Mark Brnovich said that he is noticing a “disturbing trend” of school boards “encroaching on the constitutional rights of concerned parents,” according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller. Brnovich said that the actions of Scottsdale Unified School District board member Jann-Michael Greenburg are just the latest.
Greenburg allegedly had access to a Google Drive that included personal pictures and information on a slew of outspoken parents, including their social security numbers, a divorce proceeding, and financial records, according to the previous reporting by the Daily Caller. Greenburg was removed from his leadership position on the board on Nov. 15 but he remains on the board as a general member. (RELATED: Scottsdale School Board Member Linked To Parent Dossier Removed From Position As Board President)
Brnovich’s letter says that because the dossier potentially violated the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of student education records, the claims meet “the threshold to federally review and investigate this issue.”
Arizona’s AG went on to say that there is “no place” in America wherein “parents should be surveilled, threatened, and intimidated for asserting their constitutional rights and raising concerns about their children’s education.”
“A dossier containing information on those who wish to participate in their children’s education and peacefully petition their government should concern all Americans of good conscience,” Brnovich said.
The Scottsdale Unified School District released a statement on Nov. 12 vowing to hire a forensic investigator to “determine if any school resources were used to compile, access or modify the private dossier” allegedly created and maintained in a Google drive folder by Mark Greenburg, the father of Greenburg, and shared by the latter.
Brnovich also sent an email to the Scottsdale Unified school board requesting a meeting with them, according to a letter reviewed by the Daily Caller.
Parents with children in SUSD told the Daily Caller they are in favor of all investigations into Greenburg’s activity.
Mother Amy Carney said that she’s happy that the state AG is “standing up for the parents of Scottsdale on a national level,” but wants him to suspend Greenburg from serving on the board until the pending investigations are complete.