Three Arizona parents have filed a lawsuit seeking damages after they discovered a dossier kept on parents deemed to be adversarial by a Scottsdale School Board.

The Defendants named in the suit are Jann-Michael Greenburg, the former president of the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board, as well as his father and his father’s wife; all accused of maintaining the Google drive database. The younger Greenburg was removed as president by his own board amid the scandal in November, with his vote being the only one cast in his defense. However, he remains on the board as a regular member.

The trio of parents – Amanda Wray, Kimberly Stafford, and Edmond Richard – allege in the complaint filed with the Maricopa County Superior Court that the Greenburg family and the district conspired “to silence and punish dissenting voices and frighten away other potential speakers who might dare express an opposing point of view.”

The dossier is said to be comprised of files on 47 parents who had ever been critical of the board’s policies, such as speaking out against the teaching of Critical Race Theory or arguing against COVID-19 restrictions. Some of the private information allegedly included in the files are Social Security numbers, mortgage documents, background checks, trade certifications, screenshots of Facebook posts, and even a divorce paper, Fox News reported.

(Video: 12 News)

The existence of the so-called “Greenburg Files” was first reported by the Scottsdale Independent in November, having been discovered after Greenburg sent a screengrab of an image from the dossier during a back-and-forth email with the aforementioned Kim Stafford which can be read here.

The dossier also reportedly includes 18 folders marked CAN-Network, a reference to the Community Advocacy Network which was formed by parents in the district in 2020. The group has called for in-person learning and the termination of mask mandates in schools. The Greenburg family files refer to these parents as “wackos,” Fox News said.

During a presser Thursday, plaintiff Amanda Wray recalled, “I stopped engaging with the school district and I stopped going to school board meetings because I was physically afraid,” 12 News Phoenix reported.

One of the more curious findings reportedly found in the dossier is a video of a man who appears to be snapping photos of parents and children prior to a school board meeting.

“Somewhere around here we have a private investigator who’s writing down all of their plates,” the man says in the video. “They don’t know it’s me … I covered up my license plate.” It is unclear from the Fox News report who filmed the man seen in the video.

The plaintiffs also pointed to another video where an unnamed speaker can be heard to say, “I really want Edmond to die. I’ll be so happy, I’ll have a f—ing party,” in reference to an outspoken parent Greenburg has sued for defamation, Fox News said.

In November, Republican gubernatorial candidate for Arizona, Kari Lake, announced her support for the embattled parents.

“The left and these tyrants in the school board have awoken a sleeping giant and it’s pissed off moms and dads. And you do not poke a mama bear, right? We know what’s best for our children,” Lake said. “Jann-Michael Greenberg, who doesn’t have children, doesn’t know what’s best for our children and we want him gone and we want him gone tonight or yesterday,” AZCentral reported at the time.

Fox News lists the counts brought forth in the suit as follows:

(1) First Amendment retaliation for chilling their free speech; (2) deprivation of First Amendment rights by blocking them from Jann-Michael Greenburg’s official Facebook account; (3) intentional and (4) negligent infliction of emotional distress by compiling sensitive personal information, the revelation of which led Wray to vomit; (5) defamation by including on the drive a bankruptcy filing belonging to an “Amanda J. Ross,” falsely suggesting that Amanda Wray – whose maiden name is Ross – had filed for bankruptcy; and (6) false light invasion of privacy by suggesting that Wray – a financial planner – had filed for bankruptcy.

In its defense, the district hired Loehrs Forensics as a third-party investigation firm. They determined that “no forensic evidence exists to support allegations that the [District’s] email server or the personal devices of [the selected individuals] were used to create, access, modify, or share the Google Drive folder.” Additionally, an investigation by Scottsdale police found no evidence of criminal conduct, but evidently the dossier still exists.

A spokesperson for the school district would not comment on the lawsuit as they reportedly have yet to receive a copy of the complaint or review the claims.

Greenburg also refused to comment when approached by 12 News, but his father sent an email to the outlet in which he stated, “I have great faith in our justice system and look forward to having these matters properly adjudicated in our courts.”

In what is likely a strategic appeal to the larger community, the plaintiffs have requested a trial by jury.

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Frank Webster

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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.

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