Gun threat prompts school lockdown
Some parents feel alert system should provide more information
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
Schools Superintendent Vincent Smith stressed to the public that the school administration took the proper precautions during the lockdown that occurred at the Fords Middle School on April 18, but admitted that it was not perfect.

"We have to realize that there was a lot of anxiety during the serious situation," Smith said at a Board of Education meeting on April 24. "We also realize that it was not perfect, and we will be reviewing procedures and look into situations. Parents who came to the school were able to get onto the property, looking through windows, and we have to look into that."

Board member Thomas "Skip" Garley, who is also a lieutenant with the Woodbridge Police Department, said it is important for parents who do come to the scene of a school lockdown to stay away from the windows of the school.

"This could have been a very dangerous situation," he said.

Smith added that during a lockdown, the students would remain in the school building until the situation is deemed safe.

In a formal lockdown procedure, students are locked inside classrooms, with the doors locked from inside. Students are also instructed to stay away from the windows.

The code red lockdown occurred as a result of an anonymous 911 call made from a cell phone at 11:37 a.m. April 18 stating, "Please come. A boy in the middle school has a gun." No school was specified.

The call was found to be bouncing off a cell tower near New Brunswick Avenue near the Fords and Edison border, police said. Edison and Perth Amboy police departments were notified. Searches were also made in Soehl and McGinnis middle schools in Perth Amboy.

"The police department immediately contacted us," said Smith, who was at the scene with other central staff and law enforcement.

A message was sent to all parents and guardians through the Honeywell Instant Alert Security system at 12:11 p.m. informing them that there was a lockdown at the middle school.

Smith praised the actions of the staff, teachers and students at the schools, who do conduct practice drills for various situations.

"We spoke to the kids afterwards, and they were scared; it is a frightening thing," he said. "We were doing what was best for the students. We were taking proactive steps and precautions…unfortunately, these things are realities that we have to deal with, and what we read in the newspapers does not only happen here in Woodbridge but across the country."

At about 1:25 p.m., another Honeywell Instant Alert message was sent to parents and guardians informing them that the school was not in lockdown mode anymore and that classes would resume.

Sue Boros, who has a 12-year-old son who attends Fords Middle School, said she was disappointed in the instant alert messages that were sent during the lockdown.

"We got no explanation on what happened," she said. "We received a letter on April 21 that only explained that there was a lockdown at the middle school and that all procedures had been followed."

Boros said her son at the time was in physical education class.

"He told us they were heading out the door when they were told to come back in," she said. "They were kept in the shower room while teachers and police searched their lockers and backpacks and padded them down. His friend asked a teacher if he could use his cell phone, but he was told no."

Boros, who is not new to lockdown situations, since she has worked in the central office in the Newark School District for four years, said she would like to see a review done on the Honeywell Instant Alert Security system, which was implemented in the school district in November 2007.

"I recognize this is not Newark," she said. "But in a technical world that we live in, we should be able to get more messages. On the same day in Newark, there was a lockdown at one of our schools and the students were kept in the school until 6 p.m. The parents were updated every half-hour informing them when they could pick their child up. I know we can't get all the information, but I would like to see an extended message sent to parents."

Smith said not only was a gun not found during the searches of book bags and lockers, but no other type of weapons or drugs were found.

"This is a good sign; everyone did a great job," he said.

Garley said the police department is in the process of forming a new team to go into the schools to role-play situations such as lockdowns.

"We will conduct different scenarios and train teachers as well as parents on what to do in these particular types of situations," he said.

In 2005, Colonia High School was locked down for three hours after state police received a call that some students had automatic weapons in the school. The situation was determined to be a hoax.