Fewer school droupouts, more crime and violence on campus

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)- Fewer students are dropping out of school but more are committing crimes and acts of violence.  That's according to a new report by the NC Department of Public Instruction.

Setting garbage cans on fire in the restroom, attacking fellow students on the bus- it's already happened at schools across the east this year.

State reports show crime and violence rose by .4% last school year.  That includes incidents like drug possession, having weapons on campus, and assaulting school personnel.

Beaufort County reported 81 incidents and Pitt County had more than 300.

"We do have aggressive acts,” said Dr. Beverly Emory, Pitt County Schools Superintendent.  “I mean, that goes on. Just like in the community, that comes to school and we have to deal with it."

Looking at last year's statistics has some superintendents analyzing how they report crime and violence in the first place.

Dr. Beverly Emory says she doesn't want to sugar coat the problem but determining what counts as a crime could impact a student's future.

"We need to go back and look at what are we calling- is you know- is assault on a school official, 'I threw a pencil and it hit the teacher in the head?' or is it actually some aggressive act? said Emory.

Beaufort County administrators say they're not sweeping anything under the rug but tighter policing on school grounds likely led to the increase.

"Vigilance is the right word,” said Dr. Don Phipps, Beaufort County Schools Superintendent. “We're trying to be vigilant and when you're vigilant like that I think you tend to turn up a little bit more.  You are aware to what's going on around you and you wind up finding things."

Just this week, a washington county student brought a BB gun to school, threatening to shoot 6th grader Alexus Downing.

"I was scared to death,” she told Nine on Your Side.  It’s something she said escalated from other incidents.

We asked whether bullying should count when tallying acts of crime and violence.

"When you're being bullied or you're a bully, you know it but subjectivity of people calling something that gets very tricky,” said Emory.  She says schools often don't know about it until it's too late

The state's report shows drug possession was the most frequently reported crime followed by weapons possession and assault on school personnel.