Hellgate High Data Breach Reveals Confidential Student Information

Missoula County Public School District one is investigating why a bunch of private, confidential information about Hellgate students and one school staffer were sent to parents of Hellgate High School football players last Friday. The information included very sensitive details, including which students at school were failing classes, which students were seeking mental health counseling and even details about family-abuse cases.

Although School officials were unable to do any interviews on the issue yesterday, Superintendent Mark Thane released the following statement:

“We deeply apologize for any inconvenience or concerns this incident may cause for our students and families. While this was an unintentional release of information we understand that the district is ultimately responsible to safeguard student information.”

According to School district Public Information Officer Hatton Littman, the district has hired an outside forensic investigator to inspect the computer and email that caused the data breach. The email appears to have been sent by Hellgate High School Assistant Principal Lynn Farmer.