'Significant' Decline In Ridgewood School Safety Incidents Since 2000s

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — In the Ridgewood Public School District which is comprised of more than 5,600 students, a total of 30 safety incidents were reported across all 10 schools in the 2021-22 school year, according to Ridgewood High School Assistant Principal Basil Pizzuto who gave the report Monday to the village Board of Education.

Each year, the district collects and reports data on school violence and safety, and, though the number of incidents has slightly increased since the return to in-person learning, incidents over the past two decades have significantly declined, Pizzuto said.

He attributed the slight rise partially to the anxiety and stress of returning to the classroom, and said there is a small population of students who has struggled to adjust.

"It is hard to say at this point if we are rounding the corner on that," Pizzuto said. "But we are addressing those issues."

Over the course of the 2021-22 school year, 13 incidents of harassment, bullying and intimidation were confirmed in Ridgewood schools; HIB incidents, he said, often occur through social media or social networking.

Pizzuto also added that, though it is not necessarily reflected in the data (seven substance-abuse cases were reported last school year), he has seen an increase in marijuana use among youth since recreational marijuana was legalized in New Jersey, and that he and others are looking into how to address that.