After two years of decline, the Rowan-Salisbury School System saw about a 37 percent increase in the number of reportable acts of crime and violence during the 2011-12 academic year, according to data released Thursday by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
A total of 104 incidents were reported, up from 76 the previous year for a rate of 5.2 acts per 1,000 students. The rate was 3.9 during 2011-12.
Possession of a controlled substance was reported 70 times, including 13 at North Rowan High, 15 at Carson and 18 at South Rowan. That number jumped by 89 percent from 37 incidents the previous year.
There were 22 reports of possession of a weapon, five of which were at Koontz Elementary and four at South Rowan High. The number of such incidents grew by about 29 percent from 17.
The Kannapolis City school district saw a 20 percent decrease in the number of reportable acts of crime and violence, which fell from 35 to 28.
The rate per 1,000 students dipped from 6.8 to 5.5.
The district is among the five school systems in the state with the largest three-year decrease in rates for high schools, according to the education department.
There were 20 reports of possession of a controlled substance, including 13 at A.L. Brown High and seven at Kannapolis Middle. That figure climbed by almost 18 percent from 17 the previous year.
The district had four reports of possession of a weapon, including one at A.L. Brown, one at Kannapolis Intermediate and two at Kannapolis Middle.
The Safe Schools Act requires districts to report 16 specific acts of crime and violence to the State Board of Education. Those range from alcohol possession to burning a school building to homicide.
Read the complete story, with information about individual schools, in Saturday’s Post.