REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- One school district's students' personal information might have been compromised after a district employee's laptop was stolen.
NBC 4's Tom Brockman talked to Reynoldsburg City Schools Assistant Superintendent Dan Hoffman Friday morning to get answers.
A laptop computer that contained the names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers of 4,259 district students was stolen over the weekend, according to Hoffman. He said it was stolen out of a district computer tech's car.
The employee noticed the laptop was missing after attending a wedding in downtown Columbus. The employee reported it missing Monday, but the district didn't realize a database was on the laptop until Wednesday.
Affected students are in first through 12th grade.
An automated phone call alerted affected families Thursday.
Mike Dickens got a call from the district Thursday. Turned out, his children's personal information was on the stolen laptop.
"I was shocked to say the least," Dickens said.
The district also sent letters Friday to parents of students whose personal information was on the laptop.
Officials said the student names were part of a database that was being used to implement a new system to pay for school lunches.
Hoffman said the employee should have deleted the database before taking the laptop off district property.
That was where the misjudgements were made: 1. Not deleting the database. 2. Leaving the laptop in the back seat of a car, Hoffman said.
"We recognize it's really a district-wide responsibility to protect this sort of data. We really regret we were not able to do that," Hoffman said.
Officials said they were already in the process of deleting students' Socials security numbers, and within two weeks the numbers will be eliminated from the system.
The employee was suspended with pay while Columbus police investigate.
Brockman said nearly two-thirds of the district's students were affected.
Officials encouraged parents to check credit reports.
School officials said there have not been any cases of identity theft yet.
Stay tuned to NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for more information on this developing story.
To send a news tip or submit a story idea, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement