But officials say tobacco usage is growing as industry pushes more products to youth

Tooele County schools aren’t becoming more dangerous, but tobacco usage among students is an increasing problem, according to the Safe Schools Report compiled by the Tooele County School District. The report, which details incidents of “prohibitive behaviors,” is mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Violence and weapons-related incidents in schools were virtually unchanged in the 2008-09 school year compared to the previous year. There was no gun-related or gang-related violence, and no sexual assault. There was one incident of aggravated assault, which is defined as the use of unlawful force or violence involving a weapon or threatened use of a weapon, that did not result in injuries.

The simple assaults are typically student fights, according to Linares.

“We take safe schools very seriously,” said Terry Linares, Tooele County School District superintendent. “Reported incidents of prohibitive behavior are referred to a district case management team that reviews the facts of the case and recommends a course of action. Students that present a risk to themselves or others are also evaluated by a professional that conducts what is called a ‘predicts risk assessment.’”

The No. 1 problem documented by the report remains truancy, with 76 incidents. According to the report, these violators were all given in-school suspension.

“We know these aren’t the only truancies,” Linares said. “But they have risen to the level that the case management team has been asked to review the problem with the student and parents.”

The next highest problem was tobacco-related incidents, with 67 reported student offenders — a 71 percent increase over last year.

The increase in tobacco incidents is probably due to better enforcement rather than increased use, according to Gayle Parker, tobacco prevention specialist with the Tooele County School District.

“As part of the prevention program we have been educating administrators and school resource officers on the school’s tobacco policy,” Parker said. “That has lead to more citations to students for tobacco incidents, which then gets the students into our tobacco cessation program.”

Students can be cited for a tobacco violation for carrying tobacco related products or paraphernalia, including lighters, according to Parker.

Tobacco users are referred to the Tobacco End program, which was developed to help students quit the tobacco habit.

There were 13 students reported for making threats. A threat is defined as expressing the intent, through word or action, to inflict harm upon another person or another person’s property, such as stalking or threatening to beat someone up.

Of the 13 students involved in threats, two were given in-school suspension and the other 11 were given out-of-school suspension.

There were nine incidents involving knives or sharp-edged devices. All were punished with an out-of-school suspension.

While there were 31 cases of bullying reported last year. None were reported this year.

“I am not saying there was no bullying last year,” said Dan Johnson, secondary education director for Tooele County School District. “It may be that they were handled at the building level or reported differently. Such as, if they used a knife as part of their bullying, it would have been reported as a knife incident.”

Linares said overall the report shows district schools are fairly safe.

“However each violation of the safe schools policy is not treated lightly,” Linares said. “We respond with the appropriate action.”

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com