Leaked Assessments Focus of Montclair BOE Investigation

The Montclair Board of Education appointed Friday Mark Tabakin, of Parsippany-based Weiner Lesniak, to determine who is responsible for accessing a number of assessments uploaded to a password-protected teacher portal and posting them on a public website.

The school district became aware of the security breach last Friday, alerting parents that about 14 assessments were available to the public for a short time, compromising their integrity.

As part of the investigation, individuals and employees of websites will be subpoenaed and a forensics investigator specializing in technology will be contracted, Tabakin said.

“It’s going to be a very wide net,” he said.

The resolution passed unanimously by the board states that if a district employee or employees were found to be responsible they could lose their jobs. If illegal activity is suspected, it's possible a criminal investigation will also take place.

The assessments were reportedly posted on Gobookee.org, a document-sharing website, and have since been taken down.

Board President Robin Kulwin said the BOE was not authorized to conduct an investigation until formal action was taken, which was the reason for calling a 4 p.m. special meeting on Friday.

Notice of the public meeting had to be given 48 hours in advance of the meeting, which is why the investigation could not begin sooner.

“This is serious,” Kulwin said, adding, “This is not indicative of the community that I know.”

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