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Superintendent disables voice-activated lockdown device after multiple false alarms at Clark campus
Summary
Superintendent Tim Rosner said he removed the voice-activated lockdown device at Clark High/Middle School after several false activations and that the system will remain off while the district tests protocols and provides staff and student outreach.
Superintendent Tim Rosner told the East Meadow board that he and district staff removed a voice-activated lockdown device from Clark High School/Clark Middle School after "three or four false alarms" that unnerved students, staff and families.
"I went there today with Mr. Velasquez and took it out so it can no longer go off," Rosner said. He said he had received an apology letter from the vendor but that the district would keep the system disabled until it is tested and staff and students are prepared.
Rosner described the device as part of a new lockdown system that triggers a spoken "lockdown" announcement through the PA and that the false activations came from the voice component. He said the district and vendor "worked on it" over the winter break and believed the issue fixed, but a recent activation prompted Rosner to remove the voice element and to "hit the reset button" with staff and students.
At the meeting Rosner said he had met with Clark staff and with Todd Atkin, the district's homeland security officer, during faculty conferences to review protocols. "We will continue to use this as a learning experience," he said, and the district will conduct targeted outreach so students do not become complacent about drills.
Several public speakers described the disruption the false alarms caused. Parent Colette DeVito said students were left outside in cold weather with no adult out supplanting them, and asked whether the district would replace the vendor if problems persist. A community member who identified herself as Patricia, who said she works on emergency preparedness drills at her employer, warned, "Those 6 seconds is life or death. K?" and urged urgent retraining and muscle-memory practice.
Rosner said the district would emphasize reunification plans and classroom-level outreach rather than large assemblies: "We're gonna get to everybody and explain." He also noted that shared spaces between Clark High School and Clark Middle School complicate announcement and lockdown routing and that the district will audit the PA and lockdown configuration.
No formal policy change or procurement action was taken at the meeting; trustees and staff described steps the administration would take to test systems, train itinerant staff, and communicate with families.
