A Statement from the Stoneham School Committee

STONEHAM – The Stoneham School Committee, as part of its ongoing commitment to public transparency, would like to share an update regarding the March 21 incident outside South Elementary School and the School Committee’s response to communications delays in the aftermath:

The Stoneham School Committee has met multiple times in the past week to comprehensively review the timeline, safety procedures, policies, and communication measures.

The Committee has established this timeline, which has been verified by the Stoneham Police Department.

• March 21, about 9:40 a.m.: An individual trespassed on South Elementary School property. They were encountered by the principal, who believed the person was having a mental health crisis.
• March 21, about 9:40 a.m.: At the direction of the principal, the school secretary called 911. First floor classrooms were placed on hold, meaning that the school day continued but no one could enter or exit the building, walk the halls, or leave their classrooms.
• March 21, about 9:41 a.m.: The Stoneham Police Department arrived at the school and found that the individual had left the property.
• March 21, about 9:43 a.m.: The individual was taken into custody off school property, and connected with mental health support services at an area hospital.
• March 22, about 12 p.m.: The District was made aware that the individual would be facing charges at an unspecified time, but further information about the individual or case could not be made available due to protective legal rights and confidentiality issues.
• March 26, about 2 p.m.: The individual was arraigned at Woburn District Court. The School District is informed of the criminal charges.

Superintendent Ljungberg made the decision to not inform the community about this event based on the information available at the time, including that this appeared to be a mental health crisis, Stoneham Police had responded quickly, and there was no disruption to the school day.

Based on the policies and procedures of the Stoneham Public Schools, we issue the following conclusions here:

1. That Superintendent Ljungberg did not violate any district policies, as existing district safety policies leave public communication to the discretion of the administration.
2. That the Stoneham School Committee disagrees with the decision made not to inform the public. While this decision did not explicitly break any district rules, the School Committee disagrees with the Superintendent’s judgment call on March 21, even taking into account the fact that the decision was based on information available at the time.
3. That policies and procedures should be reviewed to provide clear guidance for when administrators face similar decisions in the future.
4. That, on March 21, at that moment of the incident, Superintendent Ljungberg had no knowledge of the background or history of the individual who trespassed, due to state privacy laws. The District only learned that the individual pulled on the handle of a locked door when video surveillance was reviewed the following day.
5. That the District was not aware of the full extent of the charges until they became public in a court proceeding on March 26. The Stoneham Public Schools and Stoneham Police Department issued a joint statement on the afternoon of March 26.
6. The School Committee and Superintendent have acknowledged that communications to parents and staff were not up to the standards of Stoneham Public Schools. The School Committee has directed the Superintendent as to its expectations in communications to all stakeholders moving forward. In addition, the School Committee will undertake a review of its policies and practices related to crisis responses.
7. Appropriate personnel action has been taken based on the findings of the investigation. Mr. Ljungberg will remain in his position of Superintendent. Due to applicable Massachusetts law relative to personnel records and individual privacy rights details as to any such action will not be disclosed publicly.

The School Committee also offers the following joint statement of its members:

“While it is encouraging that our school safety procedures resulted in a safe outcome for students, staff, and the community, we understand that the communication following the incident was a failure in judgment.”

“We apologize for the distress this has caused. We recognize that promptly sharing as much information as possible, and updating our community as needed, is the minimum expectation. As a school district, we will do better to ensure this lack of communication does not happen again.

“In addition to the review of our policies and protocols, we also plan to take part in joint training with other agencies surrounding communications, public outreach, and media relations for school-related public safety incidents.

“The Committee would like to thank the Stoneham Police Department for its swift action and continued partnership and service to our district in keeping our community safe. We are grateful for their support and collaboration as we continue to improve our safety communication measures.

“Thank you to the Stoneham community for the constructive feedback and dialogue. School safety will remain our top priority and we look forward to continuing to work together on that shared mission.”