Union City’s schools have ranked once again among the highest in Hudson County when it comes to reported incidents of violence compared with the size of the student population.
Two weeks ago, on Oct. 23, Gov. Jon Corzine announced the results of the New Jersey Department of Education’s annual report on school violence and vandalism.
Union City reported 191 incidents of violence, vandalism, substances, and weapons.
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However, the number in Hudson County rose slightly from 904 in school years 2006-07 to 991 in 2007-08.
What the numbers mean for Union City and the county
Of all the districts in Hudson County, Union City schools have the second highest number of incidents reported, a total of 191 for a population of 9,730 students.
Of those, 144 were for violence, 19 for vandalism, six for weapons, and 23 for substance abuse or possession.
In the past, Superintendent of Schools Stanley Sanger explained the statistical difference between his district and others by saying that Union City schools made sure to report each and every incident.
The only school district to come close to Union City’s ratio is Jersey City, which has the highest number of incidents at 268. However, they have a student population of 28,119, almost triple that of Union City.
Union City had reported 243 incidents of vandalism and violence in 2006-07, so those numbers are actually dropping.
In West New York, where the number of students recorded was 7,054, there were a total of 44 incidents, of which half were for violence.
Davy said that that no school in New Jersey had been classified under the state’s policy definition as a “persistently dangerous school” in conjunction with the No Child Left Behind Act.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com