For the 2014–2015 school year, there were 31 incidents at Eastern Regional High School involving violence, vandalism, substance abuse or confirmed incidents of harassment, intimidation or bullying — the same number of incidents as the 2013–2014 year.
Eastern anti-bullying coordinator William Westerby presented that information to the Eastern Camden County Regional School District Board of Education at its Sept. 16 meeting.
Westerby said that number fluctuates from year to year, but for the six or seven years he’s been collecting data, he believed the number usually rests somewhere between 25 to 40 incidents per year.
Giving a further breakdown of the information, Westerby said in 2014–2015, there were 19 incidents of violence, compared to 20 the previous year.
“The incidents of violence usually correspond to some sort of altercation or fight within the building,” Westerby said.
For incidents of vandalism, Westerby said 2014–2015 saw three incidents at Eastern, compared to two incidents the year before.
Westerby reported during the 2014–2015 school year, there were actually no weapon violations at Eastern, a decrease from the one that occurred in the 2013–2014 school year.
For incidents of substance abuse, Westerby said each year saw the same number of incidents with four.
“These are students who either bring some sort of illegal substance to school or are found to be under the influence,” Westerby said.
For confirmed incidents in which a student is harassed, intimidated or bullied another, Westerby reported that for 2014–2015, there were five incidents, compared to the four confirmed incidents the year prior.
Superintendent Harold Melleby Jr. also spoke about the results, and although he didn’t have exact numbers, he said there were several categories where the number of incidents was down from several years ago, specifically substance abuse.
“What number I know is down is the substance abuse,” Melleby said. “I’m not saying there’s not substance abuse, but we had years where we had double-digit numbers. I know because upon a second incident, the student ends up for a superintendent’s hearing.”
Overall, Melleby said he was encouraged by the annual report.
“We shoot for zero. We don’t want to have any incidents, but all in all, if you go back, I know a couple of those categories we had double digits,” Melleby said.
Westerby was also able to break down the total number of incidents in the 2014–2015 school year by semester. During the first semester, Eastern had 11 incidents of violence, with another eight in the second semester.
For vandalism, there were three incidents the first semester and zero in the second semester. For substance abuse violations, there was one during the first semester of 2014–2015 and three during the second semester. For confirmed HIB violations, the first semester at Eastern had two, and in the second semester Eastern had three.
