Profiles January-February 2025

Fabricated AI recording leads to lawsuit after principal is reassigned

A principal in the Baltimore County (Maryland) district has sued the school system after a fabricated 2024 recording created by artificial intelligence tricked people into believing that he had made racist and antisemitic comments.

CBS News Baltimore reports that Eric Eiswert, who had been principal at Pikesville High School, was suspended and subsequently reassigned after the recording was disseminated widely on social media.

However, police later determined the recording was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and allege that Pikesville High's former athletic director, Dazhon Darien, framed Eiswert in retaliation after he launched an investigation into the potential mishandling of school funds. 

The lawsuit contends that the Baltimore County district removed Eiswert from his position as principal despite knowing that the recording was fabricated. Eiswert asserts that the district did not defend him or correct the record when it was proven that he did not make the remarks.

AI experts believe Eiswert's voice was simulated on the recording, making comments about Black students and the Jewish community. The audio went viral on social media.

Eiswert was reassigned and became principal of the district's Sparrows Point Middle School. However, according to the lawsuit, Eiswert is still suffering the consequences of the AI hoax. 

Audit says St. Louis area district mismanaged construction of high school

Lack of transparency and poor communication about construction costs resulted in board members and constituents in the Francis Howell (Missouri) District being blindsided by overruns of some $78 million for the new Francis Howell North High in St. Charles.

Those are the findings of a report from Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who gave the Francis Howell district the lowest possible rating of "poor" and identified several questionable actions involving construction of the high school.

The high school, which opened in August 2024, was projected to cost $86 million when voters were asked in 2020 to approve a bond proposal. In November 2021, administrators informed the board that the cost of building the school had mushroomed to $164 million.

"What we found was a lack of transparency, a failure to communicate, and a flawed project manager selection process that led to the Board of Education and taxpayers being shocked when the actual cost of the new school was revealed," Fitzpatrick said. "Because of these cost overruns, 71 originally planned projects, totaling more than $56 million, for schools across the district will not be completed. This lack of transparency violated the trust of the people and created serious doubts about the district's ability to manage projects of this scale in the future."

The audit also placed blame on the school board for failing to make sure it was receiving timely updates on projects. That led to "decisions with insufficient knowledge or understanding of their financial impact."

Despite voter approval, Kansas blocks district's access to bond funds

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has blocked millions of dollars in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law. 

The Kansas Reflector reports that voters in the Greeley County school district approved a $4.6 million school bond in May 2024 for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds. 

The Attorney General’s Office which determines whether a bond issue meets legal standards, based its Greeley County decision on a state law that requires county election officials to publish notice of an election on a county election website, in addition to a traditional newspaper notice. 

However, Greeley County, with a population of about 1,200, doesn’t have a website.

The office found the county clerk’s “non-compliance with the website notification” was equal to a failure to follow the law.

The bond funds would have been spent on a new gymnasium, renovations in the existing gym and a new accessible playground.