Concerns over school safety were front and center at the most recent Londonderry School Board meeting, on Tuesday night, Sept. 2, following a false alarm triggered by the district’s Alertus emergency notification system.
Parent John Grennon spoke during the Public Comment section of the meeting, voicing his frustration over the lack of response during an incident that occurred on Aug. 27 at Londonderry High School.
Grennon was frustrated with the lack of response to what could have been an active shooter situation at the high school on the same day that a mass shooting occurred in Minnesota at the Annunciation Catholic Church where two children were killed and 21 were injured.
Grennon said “We had a very traumatic event, where the system went off accidentally and law enforcement and fire were not notified.”
“At the end of the day, nobody was dispatched, and we had kids sheltering, thinking someone might be shooting up a school,” Grennon said.
He added that he spoke to both fire and police and no call was received from the school.
He suggested that some on the board or at the district should immediately go into the Alertus system and correct the problem.
He added, “As far as best practices are concerned, it’s a poor product and other school districts don’t have it and those that do have it. It goes straight to 911.”
He repeatedly asked members of the board if they were aware of the problem, but wasn’t given a response.
He also wondered whether or not the system ever worked.
He said, “That system has been up for a long time. Has it not been going across the street for two years? That’s just so troubling.”
Grennon’s comments prompted a joint press release from Police Chief Kim Bernard and Superintendent Dan Black, offering a detailed account of the incident and the district’s response.
“The purpose of the message is to follow up in more detail on the August 27 Alertus false alarm,” the release stated. It explained that the Emergency Operations Committee-comprised of school administrators, police, and fire officials-debriefs all incidents to improve future safety measures.
The release emphasized the importance of redundant communication systems. Within seconds of a water leak triggering an Alertus button, staff identified the alarm as false. Two phone calls were made to police dispatch, and School Resource Officers received confirmation via shared radios and the Alertus app. Both departments quickly understood and communicated that the alarm was not a threat.
One School Resource Officer remained on site to assist in returning the school to normal operations.
The release also noted that the Alertus beacon at the police department failed to activate during the incident, though all other beacons at the high school functioned properly. Subsequent testing confirmed the beacon now works, and both IT departments are investigating the malfunction.
The School Board issued its own statement, affirming its commitment to transparency and safety.
“The Board took this concern very seriously and immediately sought additional information,” the statement read. “While public transparency is important, the issue was initially kept private to protect the integrity of crisis protocols.”
Board members Tim Porter and Bob Slater attended meetings with police and fire officials to review the incident and observe live testing, which was successful.
“In this instance, all actions and communications were carried out promptly,” the Board stated. “While we identified a glitch with one piece of equipment, all other safety procedures worked as designed.”
The Board concluded that students and staff were never in danger, thanks to the multiple layers of communication and safety protocols in place, including the district’s ALICE system.