U.S. school plans found on computer disk in Iraq

WASHINGTON – Federal law enforcement authorities notified school districts in six states last month that a computer disc found in Iraq contained photos, floor plans and other information about their schools, two U.S. officials said Thursday.

The downloaded data found by the U.S. military in July – all publicly available on the Internet – included an Education Department report guiding schools on how to prepare and respond to a crisis, said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officials said it was unclear who downloaded the information and stressed there is no evidence of any specific threats involving the schools.

The eight districts mentioned are in Oregon, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and California. The officials said last month FBI agents in charge of those areas alerted local education and law enforcement officials about the finding.

The officials did not provide the names of the districts. But Salem, Ore., Superintendent Kay Baker confirmed her district was among them.

“Local law enforcement has no knowledge of a specific threat to any of our school buildings,” she said.

San Diego schools also were included, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, and ABC News said there was a second California district. The Salem Statesman-Journal reported the other districts were Fort Myers, Fla.; Jones County, Ga.; Birch Run, Mich.; and Franklinville and Rumson, both in New Jersey.

The disc contained an Education Department report called “Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities,” published in May 2003, as well as photos and floor plans.

In a separate but more widespread warning put out this week, the Education Department advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege last month in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people.

“The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members,” Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter sent Wednesday to schools and education groups.

The Education Department’s advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia siege. But there is no specific information indicating a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States, Hickok said.

Federal law enforcement officials also have urged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.

In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own – but may suggest a threat if many of them occur.

Among those activities:

•Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists.

•Prolonged “static surveillance” by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area.

•Observations of security drills.

•People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas.

•Foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together.