Stoneham superintendent to keep job after controversy over trespasser

The Stoneham School Committee has decided that Superintendent David Ljungberg will keep his job despite failing to quickly notify students’ parents that a convicted sex offender allegedly carrying two knives was found on the grounds of South Elementary School last month, officials said.

The School Committee determined that Ljungberg did not violate any district policies but disagreed with his decision not to inform the public when James R. McCarty trespassed on school property on March 21, according to a Friday statement from Stoneham Public Schools.

“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,” the School Committee said in the statement.

McCarty, a registered sex offender, was spotted on the grounds of the school by Principal Eric Jones, the Globe previously reported. McCarty was chased by police across Main Street and was taken into custody and allegedly found to be carrying a large black hunting knife and a green folding knife.

McCarty, who is known to Stoneham police because of a history of mental health issues, was involuntarily committed under the state’s mental health laws to MelroseWakefield Hospital in Melrose, officials said.

During its deliberations, the School Committee established a timeline of events on the day McCarty was found.

At around 9:40 a.m., a man — later identified as McCarty — trespassed on South Elementary School property, where he was found by the principal, Jones, who believed McCarty was having a “mental health crisis,” the committee said.

Jones asked the school secretary to call 911, and first floor classrooms were placed “on hold,” meaning classes continued but no one could enter or exit the building, walk the halls, or leave their classrooms, the committee said.

At 9:41 a.m., Stoneham police arrived at the school but found that McCarty had left the campus, the committee said. Around two minutes later, he was taken into police custody and taken to a hospital for mental health support services.

The next day, at around noon, the district was told that McCarty would face charges, but further information about him or the case was not available because of confidentiality laws, according to the committee.

McCarty was arraigned that day at Woburn District Court, the committee said.

After reviewing security footage that day, the district learned that McCarty pulled on the handle of a locked door of the school, the committee said.

The following Tuesday, March 26, Ljungberg wrote to the school community about the incident, and he apologized for the slow notification at a School Committee meeting on March 28.

The district was not aware of the full extent of McCarty’s charges until they became public in court on March 26, the committee said.

“We apologize for the distress this has caused,” the committee said. “We recognize that promptly sharing as much information as possible, and updating our community as needed, is the minimum expectation.”