EPISD Presents Cheaper Alternative For Anti-ID Theft Services
EPISD officials are offering at-risk students and employees a cheaper alternative to protect themselves against identity theft. Hackers broke into the district’s internal network two weeks ago, gaining access to the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of more than 70,000 people in the El Paso Independent School District.
Late Friday evening, district officials posted an offer on the district’s website through a private company called Experian. The deal is for a 50 percent discount on anti-identity theft services for families and individuals.
John Eger, whose daughter is a freshman at an El Paso school, said he wished the district would have posted the offer earlier. “Why couldn’t they offer that to us a week ago? That’s a problem you react to immediately, not a week later,” said Eger.
However, EPISD’s associate superintendent of human resources Robert Almazan said the district has been working quickly to provide solutions for the community. “It takes a while to go through all the available options,” he said.
Alamazan said the district consulted with the Texas comptroller’s office to narrow down the best options for families at risk. He said the offer was posted on EPISD’s website “as soon as (EPISD) signed on the dotted line.”
The optional offer stands for all current district students and employees and costs about $10 per month. The district did not have to pay for the deal; it was negotiated especially for EPISD and is available until Dec. 31.
Still, some parents like Eger say the offer is too little too late. “It’s (the district’s) mistake, (the district) should pay 100 percent. Why should I pay one penny for (the district’s) mistake?”
ABC-7 brought that concern to EPISD officials. Alamazan explained, “There seems to be a law in Texas about public funds. At this time, the information we’re receiving is we’re not able to provide a direct purchase of this type of product.”
Click on KVIA.com’s hot button for more information on the Experian offer.
