Officials In New Rochelle Host Public Forum To Address Recent Spate Of Student Violence
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A safety hearing was held in New Rochelle Tuesday after three violent incidents involving high school students this month.
New security measures, including more police patrolling New Rochelle High School, have already been implemented.
A packed theater of parents demanded the school board and city officials make the school safer after three students were stabbed in the last month.
The most recent incident happened last Thursday when police say a 15-year-old student stabbed a 16-year-old in a second floor classroom twice in the side.
Sources tell CBS2 the alleged attacker was himself attacked Wednesday at a pizzeria a block from campus.
Just a week before the Thursday stabbing, police said 16-year-old student Valaree Megan Schwab was stabbed to death at a Dunkin' Donuts. Her classmate has been charged with second-degree murder.
"I am sick and tired of hearing 'oh it wasn't on the property'," Valaree's aunt, Monica Furrelle Schwab, said Tuesday. "When you allow the school to be extended into the community, where does the school end and where does the community begin?"
The Board of Education says they vow to review school safety and anti-bullying initiatives.
"The school board will order a comprehensive, independent audit to examine school safety and security across the district," BOE President Rachel Relkin said.
Many parents pointed blame at the school for allowing students to leave campus during free periods, something Superintendent Brian Osborne even admitted was practice but not policy. That practice has been suspended since last week's violence.
"When something finally drastic happens, violent incident, really it comes on your shoulders because you knew what was happening the whole time," one parent said.
Uniformed police officers have also been stationed in and around the school, but the temporary precautions are still concerning to many parents.
"I didn't move here because I wanted a school with metal detectors and a police presence," one concerned parent said. "I don't support random searches of our students, a gross violation of civil liberties."
In addition to setting up a new safety task force, Superintendent Osborne says the school is setting up a smartphone app so students can anonymously report bullying so adults can intervene before it escalates to violence.