A false alarm that sent the Peekskill Middle School into a lockdown is raising questions about the district’s safety systems and the potential danger of cell phones in classrooms.

Yesterday, Jan. 15,  a student sent a text message to her mom while hiding under a desk with classmates saying there was a lockdown.

This was because of an alarm around 12:40 p.m. that the Peekskill City School District said was triggered by error.

A message posted on the district’s website on Jan. 15 read, “There is NO situation at PKMS. Police responded immediately to the alarm and the building has been cleared. All students at all schools are safe and instruction is continuing as normal.”

According to a spokesperson for the City of Peekskill Police Department, police were notified that a lockdown was initiated at about 12:41 p.m. Officers immediately responded and deemed the school to be safe from any danger. 

Some parents reported on social media not receiving notice of the false alarm until about 50 minutes later. According to a reply by the school district, “our system can take up to 45 minutes to dial all numbers. We need to confirm all details and ensure the safety of students and staff before we release details.”

Kristina Perez, a grandmother and aunt of students at the middle school, described the moment her granddaughter informed her about the lockdown at 12:46 p.m. 

“My granddaughter texts me and her mom at the same time and was like ‘Yo guys, it’s a real lockdown,’” Perez said. “‘They got us in the classroom, under the desk. I’m scared,’ [Perez’s granddaughter later recalled.]”

Perez said she did not receive the alert about it being a false alarm until about 1:34 p.m.

“We wouldn’t have known about the lockdown if the kids didn’t have their phone,” Perez said.

Another mother of a student at the middle school, Meghan Sheldon-Brungard, said she learned about the incident on social media, but by that point it was already known it was a false alarm.

“My kid texted me when she was in after school because they’re not supposed to use their phones during the day,” she said. “… and just said that, ‘oh FYI, if you didn’t know there was a lockdown. It was kind of scary, but I’m okay and I love you.’”

Several parents on social media bemoaned the up to 45 minute wait on the system. Perez said she also wanted to know what led to the lockdown error, whether it was a glitch or a student playing around.

The Peekskill City School District did not respond for a request for comment as of press time, including questions how the lockdown was triggered in error and if the district was looking to improve or replace the system that takes up to 45 minutes to dial all numbers.

A spokesperson for the police department said the circumstances surrounding why/how the lockdown was initiated are currently under investigation.

Sheldon-Brungard said she believed the wait time was somewhat standard.

“We’ll be with friends and since my kids last name is near the beginning of the alphabet our phone number will get called,” she said. “And then our friends, later in the alphabet in the ‘F’, their phone will ring next if we just happen to all be at something together.”

While the wait bothered other people, Sheldon-Brungard said it did not bother her.

“We’re sort of aware that it takes time,” she said. “Also because I assumed that during any emergency response, they’re doing the emergency responding first, and they don’t want to call us and say, ‘Oh, this might be something, but we don’t know.’”

Roxanne Woodruff, a former teacher in Peekskill of 29 years, said that before she retired in 2017, she and colleagues fought for any teacher to be able to set a lockdown into motion. It was later implemented after she retired.

“If there were an actual lockdown, they would have been notified immediately,” Woodruff said. “There are steps [and] protocols that everybody follows. If there was a bomb scare or something, we had to go out. We were even given little placards here to read from so as to not give misinformation that was going to incite the parents that were already showing up.”

Such misinformation was seen on social media with parents unsure of what schools were on lockdown. Several on social media also were divided on whether phones have a place in a classroom, particularly under lockdowns and high intensity situations that may lead to misinformation and family members congesting roads or blocking emergency services.

Woodruff, a former Building Emergency Response Team member at the middle school, emphasized the importance of a silent classroom during a lockdown. She recalled a drill where a young girl’s phone went off.

“If that had been a real situation, an active shooter in the building, and her phone went off the way it did, that was a direct indication to the shooter that somebody was in that classroom,” she said. “There’s no need for her to have a cell phone, none at all. I mean the slightest whisper could be heard.”

Sheldon-Brungard recalled a meeting with parents in the fall about cell phone use in classrooms in which school officials said the Homeland Security recommended only teachers and staff having phones in lockdowns because a child’s phone could alert an intruder or overwhelm the emergency lines.

School officials then proposed a numbered pocket system on the wall and or a special magnetic personal storage pouch that could hold students’ phones in the classrooms.

Perez said she understood cell phones could be a distraction, but said she would not want her granddaughter to go to class without her phone.

“What if that’s the last communication that you have with your child or your grandchild if it was real?” Perez asked. “Your kids, the parents are their safe haven. The kids are scared to have their phone because they’re not supposed to, but what if it was real? We wouldn’t have known about it for 45 minutes.”