Phone, Network Outage Impact Westfield Schools During First Week Of School

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield Public Schools remained affected by a district-wide phone and network outage as the second day of school ended, Superintendent Dr. Raymond Gonzalez said.

The outage was reported on Tuesday, the first day of school, and continued into Wednesday and Thursday.

"As this situation continues to evolve, I want to be deliberate about confirming information before communicating it broadly so that the updates we provide are as accurate and reliable as possible," said Gonzalez.

According to the update, the district's technology team is working with outside experts to investigate the disruption.

Gonzalez said the investigation is still in its early stages and some systems will stay offline until the district is confident they can be restored safely.

"Restoration efforts are continuing, but some services and systems will remain inaccessible until we are confident that they can be safely brought back into service," said Gonzalez.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the systems still affected were internet and Wi-Fi, including clocks and access to online instructional tools, district and school phone lines for incoming and outgoing calls, and the student information system, including parent portals, online attendance recording and gradebook access.

With phone service unavailable, Gonzalez told families that routine matters should go to building principals by email.

He noted that principals will check messages when internet access allows, and said email should not be used for urgent situations.

School main offices remain open for in-person assistance during regular school hours, according to the update.

Gonzalez also addressed safety during the outage.

"I also want to reassure our families and staff that, despite the disruption to our regular phone and network systems, the district has established procedures in place to maintain internal communication and coordinate an immediate response should an emergency occur," he wrote.

He added that on-site emergency safety systems and protocols remain operational and that the district has processes in place to notify families if emergency communication is needed.

"Our schools have continued to operate safely and effectively throughout the disruption and I am grateful to our staff for the flexibility and resourcefulness they have demonstrated," Gonzalez wrote.

He said the district will provide another update once details on system restoration and reconnection have been verified.

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