LAWRENCE — Those 400 people who found their names on a school department "snoop list" will soon receive a letter detailing what background information was pulled on them and how to protect themselves.

Acting Superintendent Mary Lou Bergeron apologized for the delay, saying it took longer for officials from the LexisNexis company to determine what information was sought and obtained on each of those affected by the unauthorized searches.

"They have to go back and create many of the queries that were done to make sure they have the exact information on every individual," Bergeron said at a recent School Committee meeting.

Mark Rivera, the ex-special assistant to Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy, resigned after The Eagle-Tribune learned in April he used the schools' LexisNexis software to run background checks on 400 people. The so-called "snoop list" contained the names of political candidates, celebrities, professional athletes and reporters.

It's still not clear why Rivera conducted the background checks in the first place and how the information was used. A police probe and subsequent review by Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office didn't determine whether there were any criminal violations. But police noted that Rivera didn't cooperate fully with investigators.

The city's response to the snooping scandal is to offer free credit reports to any victims who feel their financial information may have been compromised. Bergeron said those people should receive letters this week.

The School Committee has also responded by adopting new rules prohibiting school officials from using or obtaining any software program for background checks without the committee's permission. Members are also considering revising the policy on Internet use and restricting it to work-related and educational activities only.

"We're trying to make sure that things like LexisNexis never happen again," said committee member Peter Larocque, whose school safety panel crafted the regulations. "If a future superintendent were to break this policy, in my opinion, it would be grounds for immediate dismissal."

Member James Vittorioso said he thinks the new regulations being adopted by the committee will help prevent future abuses of the School Department's computer resources.

"This has been a big embarrassment to the city of Lawrence," he said. "People across the country are talking about it. I have an uncle in Pennsylvania who wants to know what's going on. This was a grievous assault on peoples' identity. This was an invasion of privacy of 400 people. And somebody should pay for it."

Committee member Martina Cruz questioned whether there is a really a need for new regulations on computer use.

"I think it is sad that we have to have a policy to prevent something that should not happen if people follow the law," she said. "The law is simple. You do not use government resources for political gain. It is obvious to me and other people that this was the reason for the snooping."

Larocque said he believes the safeguards are now in place to prevent future abuses of the School Department's computers, particularly when it comes to conducting inappropriate background checks.

"Everybody is accountable when they're using a school computer," he said. "I don't know if we can make it any plainer. As far as the policy goes, Internet access is a privilege and not a right."

The School Department's current acceptable use policy for electronic information access was adopted in 1997 and needed to be updated, Larocque said. His committee reviewed policies of several school districts, including Boston and Worcester, to determine how to improve Lawrence's policy, he said.

While the revised policy under consideration involves issues of personal safety affecting children, the "snoop list" was the catalyst for the new rules, Larocque said.

Existing personnel policy requires all school employees to undergo criminal background checks by the state's criminal history systems board when they are initially hired and at least every three years. The amendment that prohibits use of other software for background checks would prevent a rogue employee from making arbitrary checks without authorization, officials say.

Committee member Sammy Reyes believes that won't happen if school officials abide by the new policies.

"Mark Rivera obviously made a lot of bad judgments, and because of that, I think the School Department has really paid the price over the last couple of months," Reyes said. "It's up to the administration to follow the policy, and hopefully, they will respect it. This definitely happened because of the responsibility that was given to an individual (Rivera) that should not have had the position. And he abused his powers."

Committee vice chairman Greg Morris believes he and his colleagues have done all they can to prevent another "snoop list" scandal.

"I think it (the new policy) will limit the chances of it happening again," Morris said. "Are there ways around it? I'm sure. To me, it's a done deal."

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