Dozens of teachers, parents and community members packed a Lehighton Area School District special board meeting Thursday night, demanding the resignation of a director who posted more than 120,000 district documents, including employee Social Security numbers and confidential student records, on a personal website.

Mike Lusch, a Lehighton Area High School teacher, carried more than 150 pages of formal complaints to the podium.

“An irreparable harm was committed,” Lusch said. “A website publicly attacked the legal anonymity of Lehighton students, adults and minor children. An individual identified as David Bradley appears to be the webmaster of this site and sits before us as an appointed board member. We implore the Lehighton Area School District to take every possible action to address the wrongs that were committed.”

Bradley, a current appointed board member, did not deny posting the records. He acknowledged his team uploaded the documents without first reviewing them for sensitive content.

Background

The records at the center of the breach stemmed from a years-long legal dispute.

Bradley won an appeal to the Office of Open Records seeking a variety of financial records dating back as far as 2016.

A December 2024 order by Judge Joseph J. Matika sanctioned the district for complying with the OOR’s decision.

The district maintained Thursday that handing over the records was not a choice. “The District’s production of these records was compelled by judicial mandate and was not a voluntary disclosure,” the district said in a statement released Thursday morning. “While the court order required production of the unredacted records to Mr. Bradley in his capacity as the requester, it did not authorize or direct the further dissemination of those records by Mr. Bradley to the general public.”

Bradley said he originally pursued the records because of financial concerns at the district.

“The Auditor General found so many discrepancies within the records that we had to find out where the money was going and what was happening within the district when millions of dollars were coming out of a pension fund and going to other things off budget,” he said.

Once the breach was discovered, Bradley said his team of seven people scanned the records using specialized software and turned over their findings to the district. “Of 120,000 documents that were released, we ran a computer using military software to find the information that would look like a Social Security number,” Bradley said. “We then pulled a list of all the information and the files that were contained, and we provided them to the district for their review.”

Throughout Thursday’s meeting, Bradley did not apologize. Instead, he argued the district bore responsibility for failing to flag the sensitive material before handing it over.

“The district released Social Security numbers and other information to me without even alerting me that such sensitive and confidential information was part of the document production,” Bradley said.

When pressed for a direct apology, he offered only that it was “regrettable that such a thing would happen.”

Moser defended district employees involved in redacting the documents, saying the volume of records made the task extremely difficult.

“There was certainly no mal intent on the part of district employees who were doing the redacting,” he said. “I literally felt nauseous yesterday. I feel terrible about it today. This should not happen to anybody under any circumstances.”

Reaction

Rhonda Zerbe, a veteran teacher of more than 35 years, addressed Bradley directly from the podium.

“I’ve given this district 35-plus years with my heart, blood, sweat and tears, and you took that all away yesterday,” Zerbe said. “You published my Social Security number, my Ameriprise account number. It’s going to cost me more than whatever you were concerned about me getting a raise in the new teachers contract. There are people behind the numbers.”

Kristin Creemens spoke on behalf of her son, a Lehighton senior, who had recently turned 18.

“This could be the first thing that ever shows up on his credit record — fraud — and it could haunt him for a really long time,” Creemens said. “I did nothing wrong. Neither has my son, who was a minor until a couple of months ago, and he is the victim of this.”

Superintendent Jason Moser said the district was working closely with legal counsel to notify everyone whose information may have been exposed. Among the documents released were records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, though the full extent of the student data exposure remained unclear.

“There was some student information,” Moser said. “We’re not sure of the extent of what was released. We don’t know for sure. Any student information, knowing that it was breached and could have been exposed and garnered for nefarious actions, disturbs me greatly.”

Calls for resignation

Several board members joined the public in calling for Bradley’s removal. Board President Alex Matika, participating remotely from a work conference, delivered a formal statement calling for his resignation.

“I can no longer stay silent and allow misconduct and malfeasance and pandemonium to define our district,” Matika said. “This behavior represents a critical breach of trust, not just to the board, but to the community. I believe that the actions taken by director Bradley are incompatible with the responsibilities of those serving on the board, and I am formally calling for his resignation.”

Fellow board member Joy Beers said she wanted to see a full investigation, but focused on the district’s role.

“I think an investigation is in order,” she said. “We all know what Dave did — that doesn’t need to be investigated. We know what happened on his end. I’m really curious about what happened on the district side.”

Costs to the district as a result of the breach, director William Howland said, are still unknown.

“It is certain to cost the taxpayers thousands in litigation and legal fees,” Howland said. “Just the last two days our legal costs have probably been enough to help offset some expenses for an FBLA trip. That’s just an example of how our money could be better spent.”

Director Tim Tkach raised the possibility of a class action lawsuit.

“All of you who have filed a legal complaint with the district attorney’s office, and I know many of you have been in touch with lawyers, if you’re looking to do a class action lawsuit, feel free to do so,” Tkach said.

Board member Denise Hartley, who said she has personally experienced identity theft, offered a direct apology to those in attendance.

“I myself personally apologize to all of you for having to deal with this,” she said. “It is not fair. This is a nauseating situation.”

Moser said the district is working with legal counsel to notify affected employees, students and families and will provide guidance on steps they can take to protect themselves.