'Can't sleep!': East Bay neighbors fed up after school alarm won't stop beeping

EL SOBRANTE, Calif. (KGO) -- Imagine a school alarm blasting at all hours of the night while you're sleeping.

One such annoyance is escalating a decade-long conflict with a local school district in Contra Costa County.

"Everybody is losing sleep these days," Catherine Stuckey told 7 On Your Side.

"It's very country out here," she said. "Usually the nights out here are lovely... there's crickets... the wind in the cottonwood trees."

Stuckey relishes the country charm of her El Sobrante home, but ever since she moved here, there's been a sound haunting this town.

"What does it sound like?" asked 7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep... yeah," laughed Stuckey.

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She's describing the jarring alarm that goes off in her neighborhood -- on repeat -- for hours in the middle of the night.

"The alarm had been going off for four hours... from 8 o'clock at night... 'til midnight. Then a bit after," said Stuckey, describing one incident.

Two days later it happened again -- then every week, to no avail. She says it's been going off intermittently ever since she moved to El Sobrante 11 years ago.

"It's kind of purposeless alarm... I'm laughing because it's just too frustrating," said Stuckey.

According to a post on Nextdoor, the alarm is coming from the Betty Reid Soskin Middle School down the road.

Frustrated homeowners wrote: "The school ignores it 'til it's convenient to clear the alarm."

Neighbors tell 7 On Your Side they've been reporting this problem for several years now, but the school district has done nothing about it.

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In another post on Nextdoor, a former teacher wrote: "The alarm goes nowhere. I taught there many years and was robbed twice -- with my classroom trashed. No one called the police."

"When you reached out to the school, what did they say?" asked Sierra.

"Well, they didn't respond until 7 On Your Side contacted them," reported Stuckey. "And they said... well, we forwarded it to our district... That's it."

7 On Your Side reached out to the West Contra Costa County Unified School District and were told: "We understand the concerns raised by neighbors near Betty Reid Soskin Middle School regarding overnight alarm activity. The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and surrounding community are extremely important to us, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for our school community and neighbors. Our team is working with the alarm monitoring company to investigate these reports. We are continuing to assess the situation to ensure that any contributing factors are identified and corrected. Any incidents of vandalism or unauthorized access are taken seriously and referred to law enforcement as appropriate."

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office told 7 On Your Side there were several instances in June where the alarm could not be shut off because other calls were coming in at the same time.

The district says there have been seven alarms since January, and they're exploring ways to "enhance" the current alarm system -- hopefully restoring peace in the neighborhood.

"I know my neighbors will be grateful to not have that alarm going off!" said Stuckey -- so everyone can get back to sleep.

Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.

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