An Important Negotiations Reminder to Business Administrators

NJSBA Announces Sale of Northern Field Office

NJSBA Board of Directors to Meet

Audit Questions DOE Oversight

School Violence Edges Up Slightly

Obituary: Wesley Lance, an Author of New Jersey’s Constitution

Obituary: Dr. Boyle, Somerset ESC Superintendent

NJSBA on the Air

Workshop 2007—Ethics Do’s and Don’ts

Calendar

Click here for a pdf version of this issue of School Board Notes

New Jersey’s 2,400 public schools saw a 2 percent increase in reports of violence, vandalism and substance abuse last year, which state officials attributed in part to a heightened awareness of harassment and bullying.

The annual report, Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools, which covered the 2005-2006 school year, was released last week. It found 18,796 incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse. Nonetheless, 70 percent of schools reported five or fewer instances of violence, vandalism and substance abuse, and 37 percent of schools reported no instances at all.

No Schools ‘Persistently Dangerous’ State education officials also said no New Jersey schools met the state’s definition of a “persistently dangerous school,” a designation required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The two schools on last year’s “persistently dangerous” list saw a decrease in violence and vandalism in 2005-06, and a third school on the list had successfully appealed its designation.  

Some of the largest changes in the violence category came from a 24 percent increase in reports of harassment, intimidation and bullying, as well as an 11 percent increase in reported threats. Assaults decreased by 6 percent, and the vandalism category saw a 14 percent increase in theft and a 5 percent increase in property damage.