Galloway Schools Report One Incident in 2010-11 Violence and Vandalism Report

Based on the number of violent incidents, the appears to be a very safe place for parents to send their children.

The district reported just one incident of violence, and no incidences of vandalism, possession of weapons or possession of controlled dangerous substances (CDS), according to the State of New Jersey’s Violence and Vandalism report for the 2010-2011 school year, released earlier this month.

In the report for the 2009-10 school year, the district –which includes four elementary schools and a , reported three incidents of violence, one of vandalism and one of possession of weapons.

There were 3,415 students enrolled in the district at the time of the most recent report, and 3,513 enrolled at the time of the 2009-10 report.

 For the 2010-11 year, the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District, which includes , along with Oakcrest and Cedar Creek, 142 total incidents. Violent incidents in the district, which enrolls 3,856 students, accounted for 83 of the incidents, with possession of CDS accounting for 31.

There were 16 occurrences of vandalism, and 13 reported incidents of possession of a weapon.

That number is up from 2009-10 report, when there were just 99 total incidents, 64 of which were violent incidents and 24 of which involved possession of CDS. The district, which had a slightly higher enrollment that year of 3,888, reported eight incidents of vandalism and five of possession of weapons during that time frame.

The reported one incident of violence, for a total number of one incident for the 2010-11 year. This number was up from the school’s perfect line of zeroes from the previous report. Enrollment was down to 218 from 288 in the previous report.

Throughout Atlantic County’s 28 school districts, there were 799 total incidents reported for 2010-11. The highest number of incidents was 224 in Atlantic City, while Ventnor City was the lone school district to post zeroes across the board.

Atlantic City reported the highest number in three of the four categories, including violent incidents (123), weapons (16) and CDS (65). Egg Harbor Township registered the highest vandalism total (21).

The Atlantic City School District is made up of one high school and eight elementary/middle schools.

Throughout the state, 17,386 incidents were reported for 2010-11, up by 1,048 incidents from the previous report, according to Acting Department of Education Commissioner Christopher D. Cerf.

Violence was up by 5.6 percent over the three-year period beginning in 2008-09, with 3,412 incidents being reported, according to Cerf. CDS incidents also increased by 37 percent over that three-year span. There were 1,119 reported CDS incidents in 2010-11.

Vandalism went down by more than 30 percent in that three-year span, while weapons possession remained essentially the same.

The Violence and Vandalism in Schools report is released annually, per a 1982 state law. The goal of the report is to transparently share self-reported incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons, and substance use and possession, the Department of Education states.

“Students learn best and achieve their full potential in safe and orderly classrooms,” Cerf said. “This report empowers parents with access to information in the most transparent way possible.  We are committed to being as open and forthcoming as possible about circumstances that impact the health and safety of our students with the goal of ensuring that every child in New Jersey can learn in a safe and supportive learning environment.”