Westwood school lockdowns were false alarms. Now the district is tackling the root cause

Twice in the last two months, police have rushed to Westwood Regional High School after a security alert triggered a lockdown.

Both times, it was a false alarm.

The episodes left some parents frazzled and frustrated. But Schools Superintendent Jill Mortimer said the district has identified the source of the malfunction in the security system at the school. It's taking steps to assure it doesn't happen a third time, she said.

“I want to extend a sincere apology to the students, parents, staff and first responders who were affected by these extremely stressful events,” Mortimer said in a statement provided to NorthJersey.com and The Record this week. “No one should have to go through that trauma.”

Security system upgraded. Now, it'll be replaced

The two lockdowns occurred on April 16 and May 2 at the school, on Ridgewood Road in Washington Township.

The district, which serves students from Washington Township and Westwood, upgraded its security system and hardware on Feb. 29. After the first false alarm in April, hardware was replaced again at the high school.

The second false alarm triggered a full investigation by the contractor who provided the system, which eventually uncovered a problem with the wiring. It's been fixed, providing "some closure." But Westwood Regional is also looking for alternatives to the current security system and plans to have something in place by the start of next school year, Mortimer added in an interview on Wednesday.

She said the cost of the replacement system is unknown at this time.

Why was Westwood High in lockdown?

Mortimer met last week with Lou Cammarata, a special investigator and regional planner with the state Education Department’s Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning , to discuss the situation. Cammarata also spoke with local police chiefs and school staff about the “best practices in the state when it comes to school security , ” she said in the statement.

Cammarata will also train school staff in September, the superintendent added.

The first lockdown happened on April 16 at 11:07 a.m. Washington Township police and other nearby law enforcement responded to the alarm. At the time, there was an indication that the system had malfunctioned, but as a precaution, police swept the building to investigate, Mortimer said.

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The students had an early dismissal at 12:50 p.m. as the investigation continued.

The May 2 lockdown occurred at about 7:43 a.m. after another system error, Mortimer said. Police from Washington Township and Westwood and other law enforcement rushed to the scene, said a news release the district issued at the time.

“We extend our deepest apologies to the community for this recurrence in a short time from the previous incident,” Mortimer said in that statement.

Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: noda@northjersey.com

Twitter: @snoda11

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Westwood school lockdowns were false alarms. Now the district is tackling the root cause