School Security Discussed After Lockdowns In Haddonfield

HADDONFIELD, NJ — Two security lockdowns triggered by false alarms may prompt the Haddonfield Public School District to take another look at its security protocol.

The first false alarm happened when a teacher sitting down accidentally activated a pendant's button, District Superintendent Chuck Klaus said at the June 23 school board meeting.

In the second false alarm, a teacher inadvertently activated her pendant's button as she tried to charge the pendant, Klaus said.

Other comments made at the meeting indicate not everyone likes the district's current modus operandi when a security threat is detected, which may also spur that new look at the security protocol.

"The new lockdown system has become a concern to students, teachers, parents," Charles Webb, a student representative to the Haddonfield Board of Education said at the June 23 meeting. "Personally, I don't think it is a great system."

The two false alarms and student's comments, when taken in tandem, may indicate it is worth taking another look at the district protocol when the district's security appears to be at risk, said Klaus.

Currently, every district-installed phone has a button and every teacher has access to a pendant with a button that, when pushed — even if pushed unintentionally — results in a call immediately being placed to 911, according to Klaus.

However, "the pendants are poorly designed," and "I don't know that you want kids looking at something hanging around a teacher's neck saying this is how dangerous our world is today," he said.

"It's terrifying if you're in a building during these noises [spurred by the pendant being pushed]," Klaus continued. "They're loud and scary" and have the police department in the building within 90 seconds, he continued.

So [the protocol] worked, but it worked wrong, and we have to look at that," Klaus said.

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