Board receives annual report of school violence

BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - A report on school violence and vandalism, as mandated by the state, was presented to the Board of Education at its Oct. 17 meeting.

Walter Jensen, the Jackson school district's director of security, addressed the board with data from the previous year.

Incidents of violence may include assault, gang fights, robbery, extortion, sex offenses and threats.

Incidents of vandalism may include arson, burglary, damage to property, theft and trespassing.

Incidents of substance abuse may include alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, narcotics, steroids and others.

A separate category included a list of weapons.

There are about 9,800 students in the K-12 school district.

Jensen said the following incidents were reported district-wide: 25 incidents of simple assault, 26 fights and eight incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying. There were four threats, two aggravated assaults, one robbery, two sex offenses (touching) and five incidents of terroristic threats.

There were 24 incidents involving damage to property, 54 thefts and four arson incidents listed under vandalism.

Jensen said the majority of the thefts occurred in high school locker rooms, in part because students leave property unsecured.

In response to that issue, teachers are limiting access to locker rooms during class time, he said.

Security cameras have been placed throughout schools, but not in locker rooms, he said. Additional cameras will be installed in the future, according to Jensen.

In terms of weapons, out of eight incidents involving weapons, three were with scissors and five were with pocket knives, Jensen told the board, adding there was "nothing of an extremely serious nature."

Under the category of substance abuse, Jensen said possession violations often included possession of drug paraphernalia or other analog substances.

"An analog substance is something that is reported to be the real thing, but is not necessarily the real thing," he explained. "If a student intends to sell a bag of substance that appears to be marijuana and passes it off as marijuana, but in reality it's not and it turns out to be oregano or something else. That student can be charged as if it were the substance" the student is claiming it to be.

Students who are found with suspected drugs or drug paraphernalia are evaluated by the school nurse and sent for further testing, he said.

Students who are found in unauthorized areas or have been found engaged in suspicious behavior may also be sent for evaluation, Jensen told the board.

He said there were 10 incidents of marijuana use, six situations where there was marijuana possession, three incidents of alcohol possession and two drug paraphernalia reports.

Jensen said the schools have a number of safety measures in place, including security receptionists, security officers, school resource officers and staff members. All doors to the schools are kept locked and all traffic must come through the main doors. Staff members and visitors are required to wear identification badges.

All schools have a security presence during the day, Jensen said. Jackson police officers who serve as school resource officers are on duty at both middle schools (Goetz and McAuliffe) and both high schools (Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty).

"There is staff training of emergency procedures," said Jensen. "Emergency practice drills with staff and students, including lockdown drills, [are performed] to simulate any intruder emergencies."

There are emergency manuals in each school which deal with the possibility of intruders, explosives, chemical or biological hazards and natural disasters. The manuals are updated yearly. There is also a list of staff members who have been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid in every school.

Jensen said school district administrators meet annually with municipal leaders, police representatives and the director of emergency management to review responses and communications.

Board member Gus Acevedo said administrators have to be aware of and take seriously the changes in society.

"[We have to be aware of] how we treat people," said Acevedo. "How we treat the kid who is a bully at an early age. How we treat the kid who eats alone in the cafeteria. How we treat people of different religions, races and genders and make sure they are not mocked."

Acevedo said it is also important to prevent someone from doing something wrong by being vigilant, caring and looking seriously at everything that happens in a school.