A Message from the Superintendent of Schools 7/1/26

Dear Glen Cove Staff and Families,

I am writing to share important information regarding the Information Technology Audit from the Office of the State Comptroller published in June. This audit was part of the OSC's routine five-year audit cycle. Routine audits are conducted across the State and across governmental departments, including school districts, and this one was not prompted by any specific incident.

The Comptroller's audit addressed the management of non-student network user accounts from July 2023 through May 2025. These are the accounts assigned to District employees and other adults who access the network, not student accounts. The audit found that a number of these accounts were no longer needed and should have been disabled, and that some of the unneeded accounts retained administrative permissions. The report also communicated additional sensitive IT administrative recommendations confidentially to officials, which for security reasons cannot be discussed publicly.

Since last year, the District has been working with Nassau BOCES's Technology Services to strengthen our IT procedures and security. Even before receiving the draft of these findings, the Technology Department, along with support from the Nassau BOCES Technology team, began a comprehensive review of all non-student network accounts. Unneeded accounts have been disabled, administrative permissions have been reviewed and reduced where appropriate, and the procedures for account deactivation when staff leave the District have been strengthened. The confidential IT findings are also being addressed in coordination with our technology partners.

The Board of Education and District leadership take the findings in this audit seriously. To that end, the District has implemented stronger internal protocols and oversight practices around the management of network access and permissions. A formal Corrective Action Plan in response to the audit will be submitted to the Board of Education for approval and will be posted on the District website for public review.

We acknowledge the value of the audit process in reinforcing our existing internal safeguards. Please know that our administration has acted swiftly throughout, and has put systems in place that strengthen our District's overall technology security going forward.

Protecting the personal information of our students, staff, and families is a top priority, and we are committed to ensuring that our District's information systems are secure and well managed. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office directly.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexa Doeschner