At the most recent Lexington-Richland School District Five meeting, students were recognized, a PowerSchool cybersecurity update was shared and progress on the bond referendum was discussed.

Last Tuesday afternoon, the district received notification from PowerSchool that customer data worldwide had been accessed by an unauthorized party.

PowerSchool told district officials that the compromised credentials were for a support account, which allowed the hacker to access customer data globally. PowerSchool immediately disabled the account and initiated security lockdown procedures.

PowerSchool officials said that no ongoing malicious activity is present in any PowerSchool account. The district is being guided on actions to take by agencies such as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Attorney General’s office, the FBI and the South Carolina School Boards Insurance Team (SCSBIT), the state’s school insurance provider.

Lexington-Richland Five officials told the community it does not store students’ social security numbers or financial data on PowerSchool.

In other news

During Superintendent Akil E. Ross’ report, he addressed the challenges faced by all teachers, especially third-grade teachers, which is time. Due to a policy change, third-grade students whose scores did not meet expectations on the SC READY reading portion are required to be retained unless a good cause exemption is met.

According to Ross, third-grade teachers are responsible for teaching numerous standards that will potentially be tested. With only 160 days in the school year, Ross emphasized the need for additional support for these teachers.

Ross also provided an update on the bond referendum progress. A new bond referendum dashboard will soon be launched. Here, community members can look at the progress of all projects and the budget.

The Chapin High School varsity cheer team was also recognized for winning the Class 5A Division 2 state championship, finishing 25.5 points ahead of second-place finishers.

The board approved the continuous improvement plans for Dutch Fork Elementary, Irmo High and Seven Oaks Elementary. All three schools presented their growth as well as areas of improvement, with action plans on how to improve.

During public participation, individuals spoke about Irmo Middle School coach Tommy Sevilla, who was placed on leave. Parents, along with Sevilla’s wife, daughter and Sevilla himself, addressed the school board on the matter.

Parents praised Sevilla, saying he had a positive influence on their children both on and off the mat.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies, located at 916 Mt. Vernon Church Rd. in Chapin.