The Carbon County District Attorney’s office is working with state and federal authorities on the public posting of Social Security numbers belonging to Lehighton Area School District employees, retirees and their beneficiaries, District Attorney Michael S. Greek announced Monday.

The acknowledgment came four days after a standing-room-only special board meeting during which teachers, parents and community members pushed for the resignation of board member David Bradley, who had posted more than 120,000 district financial records on a personal website without reviewing them for sensitive information. The documents, obtained through a Right-to-Know Law request, contained unredacted Social Security numbers and other personal financial data.

“Local jurisdiction in situations such as this may be statutorily limited, but our office has been and continues to consult and share information with state and federal authorities regarding this matter,” Greek said.

Greek said anyone who believes their personal information was compromised may, but is not required to, contact the Lehighton Area School District, the Carbon County District Attorney’s Office, or the Lehighton Borough or Franklin Township police departments. He also recommended those affected explore their options beyond criminal law.

“It is always a good idea to consult with a civil attorney regarding other remedies available under the law,” Greek said.

What To Do

For those concerned their Social Security number was exposed, Greek’s office outlined a series of protective steps. The most immediate is a credit freeze; contacting all three major credit bureaus individually to block anyone from opening new accounts in an affected person’s name. Equifax can be reached at 1-800-525-6285, Experian at 1-888-397-3742 and TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289.

The office also advised reporting the exposure to the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website and notifying the IRS through its Identity Protection page or by calling 1-800-908-4490. Credit reports should be monitored regularly for unauthorized activity through AnnualCreditReport.com.

For those most concerned about misuse of their Social Security or work history, the office recommended contacting the Social Security Administration directly at 1-800-772-1213 to temporarily block all automated electronic access to their SSN record.

Background

Bradley, who sits on the Lehighton Area School District board as an appointed member, acknowledged at Thursday’s meeting that his team uploaded the documents to the website without first reviewing them for sensitive content.

He said he originally sought the records to investigate financial irregularities he attributed to findings by the state Auditor General.

The district maintained that it had produced the records after a December 2024 court order fined them for non-compliance with an Office of Open Records decision. The order, district officials said, did not authorize Bradley to disseminate them to the general public.