A Texas School District Employee Resigns After Secretly Mining Cryptocurrency on School Premises
Recently, a Texas school district employee made headlines after resigning from their position for engaging in unauthorized cryptocurrency mining on school premises. The incident was brought to light when the Galveston Independent School District’s IT department detected unusual activity on the district’s network.
Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Mining
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that multiple cryptocurrency mining machines were operating at six different Galveston ISD campuses without proper authorization. The Superintendent of schools, Dr. Jerry Gibson, confirmed that the individual responsible for setting up the mining machines had not been granted permission to do so.
Dr. Gibson expressed disappointment over the breach of trust, stating, “You build things on trust. You make investments in peoples’ lives. When you do that and the return on the investment is not what you want, it stinks.”
Resignation and Ongoing Investigation
The school district employee behind the unauthorized cryptocurrency mining has since resigned from their position. While no legal action has been taken against the individual as of yet, the investigation into the incident is ongoing. Galveston ISD leaders are considering sharing their findings with the district attorney’s office.
Galveston ISD reassured the community that no data belonging to students, staff, or faculty had been compromised as a result of the unauthorized mining activities. The district took immediate action by placing the employee on administrative leave before accepting their resignation.
Community Response
Former students and community members expressed their dismay over the incident, with one former student, Syriaha Smith, stating, “I feel like that’s very untrustworthy, and you’ve been working here for years. I just want to know what made you want to do that.” The discovery of the mining devices has prompted the district to implement stricter security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
As the investigation unfolds, Galveston ISD remains committed to upholding the trust and integrity of its educational community. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of ethical conduct and adherence to district policies in all aspects of school operations.