Schools

Violence, Vandalism Down in Toms River Schools

Bullying incidents cut in half year-to-year

The numbers of incidents involving violence, vandalism and weapons are down in Toms River schools.

According to state data released this week, the number of violent incidents reported to the state by Toms River school officials was down to 72 during the 2012-13 school year, from 90 the previous year.

Vandalism was down slightly, from 12 incidents in 2011-12 to 11 incidents last year. Likewise, weapons incidents reported to authorities dropped from 14 to 13 in the same time period.

The number of substance abuse cases dropped from 66 to 61, according to the data.

The state also tracks instances where there is harassment, intimidation or bullying, known as HIB violations. In 2012-13, there were 46 cases reported, almost half of 2011-12's figure of 116.

The trend of fewer incidents across the board was generally seen statewide, officials said.

"Safe and secure learning environments are a crucial part of preparing kids for college and career, and we have invested significant time to provide support and coaching to districts to reduce incidents of bullying and other forms of violence," said Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. "We applaud all of our districts for working to create safer schools for our students."

New Jersey school districts conducted 21,934 investigations into reported HIB offenses in 2012-13, a decline of nearly 40 percent from the 35,552 investigations conducted in 2011-12.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here