PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Providence Public School Department is taking steps to try and protect staff after confirming its network was hacked earlier this month. BACKGROUND: Providence School Board says district experienced ‘network security breach’ Superintendent Dr. Javier Montañez sent another letter to the school community Friday to share steps that the district would take “to proactively address any potential information exposure.” “We are finalizing an agreement with a vendor today to provide credit monitoring services for PPSD staff members,” Montañez said. The letter said the district will share more information on accessing the service sometime next week, and the district would provide additional updates on the situation as more information becomes available. The letter also provided tips for staff members on how to protect their identities. Last week, Montañez said “initial findings did not show evidence that district data was compromised.” Mayor Brett Smiley called for resources to be made available to families and was critical of the district’s handling of the situation during an unrelated interview Friday morning. “I understand the challenge of not wanting to spread misinformation, but as soon as information is available, the school department really needs to communicate with its families and its employees about what's out there, and then to give them the tools to help protect their own personal information as best as you can, in light of this really unfortunate situation,” Smiley said. Alexandra Leslie contributed to this report. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup SIGN UP NOW