Local schools see spike in violence

Bolandi cites crackdown on bullying

By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
   HIGHTSTOWN — Instances of violence in the East Windsor Regional School District more than doubled in the last school year, but Superintendent Ron Bolandi says that’s due to a crackdown on bullying.
   And while incidents of vandalism stayed generally flat in the 2007-2008 year, the Board of Education unanimously voted Monday to spend nearly $40,000 for additional security cameras at three of the district’s elementary schools as a direct response to anti-Semitic and anti-American graffiti discovered at two schools in September.
   The district unveiled it annual violence and vandalism report at Monday’s school board meeting. Instances of violence — defined as simple assault, fighting and verbal threats — rose from 49 in the 2006-2007 school year to 102 in 2007-2008.
   Superintendent Bolandi attributed the dramatic increase to new no-tolerance bullying and harassment policies.
   ”I don’t see it as a negative,” he said. “Ninety percent of the increase is due to an increase in suspensions and disciplinary actions for harassment, bullying and intimidation. Obviously, when you watch it very closely, it’s going to increase your numbers.”
   One year ago, the board approved the updated, state-mandated anti-harassment policies. Those new rules compel school officials to suspend any student caught verbally harassing, bullying or intimidating any other student, Mr. Bolandi said. In prior years, some of those instances were punished with detentions, which wouldn’t be recorded in the district’s annual report, the superintendent added.
   Mr. Bolandi said Tuesday that he believes the violence reports will drop next year.
   ”I think, with kids knowing we have a no-tolerance policy, the numbers should go down,” he said.
   Reports of incidents involving weapons fell by nearly half in 2007-2008, with disciplinary actions related to weapons dropping from 13 to seven.
   Two other indicators the district measures — vandalism and substance abuse —remained about the same. Reports of substance abuse rose from 16 to 18, while instances of vandalism went from 15 to 16.
   According to Mr. Bolandi, six of the seven weapons incidents dealt with BB or pellet guns found on students and confiscated. School officials also confiscated one knife, he added. None of the weapons were actually used by students, Mr. Bolandi said.
   As for vandalism, the district approved spending $39,681 for cameras and equipment for the Walter C. Black, Ethel McKnight and Grace N. Rogers elementary schools from Trenton-based Sonitrol Security of Central New Jersey.
   This past month, vandals targeted the Black School and Hightstown High School by painting swastikas, Ku Klux Klan, and other white supremacist-inspired and anti-American graffiti. Hightstown High School has security cameras, the Black School does not.
   Mr. Bolandi said Tuesday that that purchase goes beyond just concern for student safety.
   ”The graffiti we had was so offensive and hateful we want to be able to catch anyone who does this and prosecute,” he said. “This is not just someone drawing a face or writing their initials on the wall.”