Reported instances of violence and vandalism, and of Harassment, Bullying and Intimidation (HIB) are down overall in the South Orange-Maplewood School District. All categories — except for substance abuse — showed a decline in the 2015-16 school year, according to a report by Business Administrator Paul Roth at the October 17 Board of Education meeting.
There were 155 cases of violence and vandalism in 2015-16, as compared to 216 in 2014-15 and 244 in 2013-14. Violence and vandalism largely constitutes assaults and fights.
Board Member Madhu Pai asked if there were any trends by school. Roth said the number of incidents at each school was “generally pretty consistent,” with Columbia High School reporting the largest number of incidents at 62; Maplewood Middle School was second at 48 and Seth Boyden was third, with 30 reported cases.
Seth Boyden has a considerably higher number of instances than the other elementary schools but Roth noted that has been reducing over time. He also noted that thefts at the high school tend to fluctuate the most from year to year.
There were 30 incidences of substance abuse, a slight increase over the previous year. Substance abuse incidents have been slowly but steadily increasing since the 2006/07 school year, when there were just four reported. Roth said that could be in part due to heightened awareness among staff and teachers. The district is planning a workshop for parents and students about the issue of substance abuse, and in particular about the concern of the increased popularity of synthetic marijuana.
HIB reports declined dramatically, from 44 the previous year to just 11 — the lowest by far since HIB incidents began to be reported in 2012-13. Roth said while there were 40 investigations into alleged incidents, there were just 11 confirmed cases. (That number does not include cases still open.) Board President Elizabeth Baker said there was still some confusion about what constitutes HIB. “It’s work that we need to hear more about,” she said.
Board member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad wondered if theft incidents might be underreported; student representative Filip Saulean asked Roth how many incidents go unreported. Roth said he had no idea.
While the news was mostly positive, Pai cautioned against becoming complacent. Roth agreed: “Even with one incident it’s a concern.” He pointed out that statewide, the greatest disparity in violence and vandalism incidents were found among school districts. However, he said that districts had different reporting standards, and that SOMSD has a high level of reporting.
