FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Administrators in the Freehold Township K-8 School District reported that a total of seven incidents of violence, vandalism and weapons occurred in township schools during the 2007-08 school year.
According to state law, each school district in New Jersey must issue an annual violence and vandalism report and hold a public meeting to discuss the contents of the document.
The Freehold Township Board of Education issued its report and held the public meeting in October.
The week of Oct. 20 was designated as School Violence Awareness Week.
Throughout Freehold Township schools during that week a number of activities took place which involved staff, students, parents and law enforcement officials.
For the 2007-08 school year, administrators reported one act of violence, five acts of vandalism (including one act of vandalism which was a written bomb threat at one school), one incident of a weapon (a pocketknife accidentally brought to school) and no incidents of substance abuse, according to Assistant Superintendent Neil Dickstein.
Dickstein termed all of the incidents as minor offenses.
There was one act of vandalism which cost the school district $500. That incident of damage to property occurred in July 2007 outside of school hours at the C. Richard Applegate School. Police were notified and no complaint against any individual was filed, Dickstein said.
Actions taken in response to the incidents included four incidents in which police were notified and no complaint was filed; one incident in which police were notified and a complaint was filed; and three short-term suspensions of students.
Two offenders were regular education students, one offender was a student with a disability and three offenders were unknown.
One victim of an incident was a regular education student and one victim of an incident was a school employee, according to the report issued by district administrators.
A message from district officials contained in the report states that “Freehold Township schools experience very few incidents of violence and vandalism. Our community can be assured that our students experience excellence in educational programming conducted in a safe environment.”