Mahopac schools outline security upgrades after nearby homicide; parents press for faster alerts

Superintendent Christine Tona and district safety officials briefed the Mahopac Central School District board on stepped-up security measures on Oct. 29, describing newly installed protective film on main entrances, building maps for first responders and a digital threat-assessment tool, while parents urged quicker, clearer alerts after a nearby homicide triggered a morning lockout.

Tona said the district deployed protective film from a vendor she called Armored 1 to front entrances in a first phase intended to slow or deter an attacker and give law enforcement time to respond. "The film...takes about 15, 20 seconds before he gets through," safety administrator Troy Bilyeu said while describing footage used for training. Bilyeu said phase 2 would cover additional doors and longer-term plans include first-level windows.

Bilyeu described a Critical Response Group mapping project that will create standardized building-level maps and language for first responders. He said the district will convene local police, fire chiefs and emergency dispatch on Nov. 14 to train on common navigation terms and shared maps so "whenever there's an incident moving forward, everyone's on the same page."

District clinicians outlined the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guideline (CSTAG), a model developed by Dr. Dewey Cornell for preventing and assessing threats with an emphasis on intervention and support. A district psychologist and social worker said the district is piloting Navigate360 software to digitize CSTAG processes and coordinate clinicians, administrators and law enforcement.

The security briefing followed a morning lockout the district implemented after law enforcement notified schools of a homicide in Somers and a related search in Putnam Valley. "At 08:07 a.m., we were notified by Town of Carmel PD that a homicide occurred in Somers last night," Tona said, and the district decided to follow lockout protocols while law enforcement investigated. She said transportation for high-school career-and-technical students and field trips not in the investigation zone continued, and the district debriefed afterward.

Several parents told the board they received information from neighbors and social media before the district's communications reached them. Jacqueline Lugo said she learned about the incident around 6:30 a.m. from the community and called the district later in the morning; "I just don't think the way that it happened was okay in the way that it was sent out the communication," Lugo said.

Tona acknowledged the concern and said the district will expand communication options, including adding text-message alerts and clearer definitions of protocols. "We will send text messages in the future along with email messages," she said, adding that the district is reviewing why some Facebook comments were visible before they were hidden.

Board President Jonathan Schneider said the district conducts after-action reviews following incidents to identify improvements. "There is an after-action report, a debriefing, to figure out what went right, what could be improved upon," he said.

What happens next: The district will continue CRG mapping and the Navigate360 rollout, hold the Nov. 14 cross-agency workshop, and review communications protocols to add text alerts and clearer public definitions of lockout versus other responses.