By signing this petition, we, the residents of Molalla River School District, express our support for auditing the emergency alarm infrastructure to eliminate accidental false alarms, reduce alarm fatigue, and restore a safe, disciplined environment during lockdowns.

Hello everyone! I am Savannah, and I am 15 years old. I attend Molalla High School part-time, and as many of you Molalla parents know, there was a lockdown at the high school a few days ago. A false alarm, of course. I would like to shed some light on these concerns, coming from a student. During this lockdown (and many others before it), I witnessed what I can only describe as desensitization to the lockdown alarms. While everyone followed the basic "locks, lights, out of sight" protocol, they didn't follow every rule put in place for their safety. Not just in the classroom I was in, but in others as well, students were talking, giggling, making very inappropriate jokes given the situation, and not taking the lockdown seriously. I fear that there have been so many unnecessary lockdowns in the last few years that students have started assuming that they don't have to take them seriously. This can cost them their lives in the event of a true emergency. The students who did follow protocol properly and treated the situation with the responsiveness and seriousness it requires were very clearly stressed. These false-alarm lockdowns happening so frequently are causing a lot of anxiety and stress on students, staff, and presumably admin. Considering students never know if one is real and are constantly second-guessing until it's too late (students are never told about drills), and staff/admin are often not aware until it's already active. This can cause long-lasting anxiety and stress, not to mention the doubt and distrust for the emergency systems here, which only builds stronger with each false alarm. I have already contacted the district and others that I believe are of relevance to the situation, but I do possibly want to speak at the school board meeting on the 8th as well. I am very concerned for our fellow students and staff's mental health and safety and would like to bring as much attention to this issue as humanly possible. A majority of the false alarms are caused by teachers "mistakenly" triggering their panic buttons and not their assistance button. I just want to find a way to ensure that false alarms are less likely, as well as making the real ones safer, so we can ensure the students aren't put through constant stress and anxiety, as well as making sure they take lockdowns seriously to prepare correctly for the occasion that a lockdown is necessary for safety.

(Student-created petition — not affiliated with or endorsed by Molalla River School District)