TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Temple Independent School District has canceled all contracts with school photography company Lifetouch following community backlash over the company's possible connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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The controversy stems from social media posts linking Lifetouch's parent company to Apollo Global Management. The firm's former CEO, Leon Black, reportedly had financial ties to Epstein. Apollo acquired Lifetouch's parent company, Shutterfly, in a multi-billion-dollar deal in 2019.
For some parents, the thought of their children's school photos potentially ending up in the wrong hands is deeply unsettling.
"It's almost like they have a catalog of photos of all these kids, so they could choose from them. It's ugly to think about," Susana Salinas said.
In response to community concerns, Temple ISD announced it has a responsibility to ensure families feel comfortable and safe with its vendors. District campuses will now select other photography options.
"Temple ISD has made the decision to cancel all vendor contracts with Lifetouch. We have a responsibility to ensure that our families, students, and staff feel comfortable and safe with the vendors we use to provide those services. Campuses and departments have been provided with several options to use for photography services as we move forward."
The decision brings peace of mind to parents like Salinas.
"We have to protect the privacy of the kids. We're hearing so many things about him," Salinas said.
Waco ISD is also taking precautionary measures. In a statement, the district said it is aware of recent news reports regarding Lifetouch and understands the concerns these reports may cause for families.
"The safety and privacy of our students remain our highest priorities. Currently, district and campus leadership teams are actively reviewing the situation. As a precautionary measure, individual campuses have postponed scheduled photo sessions while this review is underway," Waco ISD said.
The district added that it is committed to transparency and will communicate directly with families as soon as additional details or next steps are confirmed.
However, not all parents share the same level of concern. Ken Cash, who has three children in China Spring ISD who use Lifetouch, says the online connections don't raise red flags for him.
"It sounds like a pretty small connection to me," Cash said.
Cash says while the headlines initially caught his attention, further research left him unconvinced there's cause for alarm.
"When I first heard it, sure. But then I read a little more into it and thought — I don't think there's much there," Cash said.
He points to the widespread nature of business connections in large corporations.
"There are so many emails. I mean, you know, the CEOs, these big companies, you know, they were, they were a lot of them dealing with Epstein, was dealing with a lot of people, a lot of money," Cash said.
The Associated Press is reporting that no evidence of Epstein or anyone in his orbit seeing Lifetouch photos has emerged from news organizations’ review of thousands of files by the U.S. Justice Department.
Lifetouch, which photographs millions of students nationwide, has responded to the backlash by stating that none of Apollo's investors or board members have ever had access to student images. The company says it follows all federal, state and local privacy laws.
The company also emphasized that Lifetouch itself is not named in the Epstein files and there are no allegations that it was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.
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