HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A Henry County woman is outraged after she purchased a used filing cabinet and found students' personal information inside.
The files had the Brandon Hall School logo and so much more. Elizabeth Darsey found them in a used filing cabinet she purchased at a used furniture warehouse.
"Disciplinary actions, legal actions, lawsuits, employment issues, everything," Darsey told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.
Brandon Hall is a private school in Sandy Springs. The files date back to the 2003-2004 school year and include information about students and staff.
Kavanaugh found copies of personal checks from school donors, expulsion letters, even information from someone's job application.
"It includes his family name, his given name, his country of origin, his Social Security number," Darsey said. "I think they need to contact every parent and student that is included in this to let them know."
Channel 2 Action News contacted the school and first received a statement from a school spokesperson:
"Brandon Hall School takes every precaution to protect all student files; however, while transitioning to electronic file storage, we were advised that after donating filing cabinets to a nonprofit organization over two years ago, that some papers were jammed in the back of one drawer. A former employee was sent to retrieve these papers. We were advised that the papers had been destroyed and assumed the matter ended."
But that never happened. Why it never happened is something the school says it takes very seriously and they will investigate to see if anyone named in the files was adversely impacted.
"This is not kids getting in trouble and going to detention, this is information about kids getting in trouble and getting arrested," Darsey said. "If this was my child's information I would be having a fit."
An attorney for the school contacted Kavanaugh and requested she bring the files to them so they can begin their investigation.
WSBTV
