For the First Half of the School Year, Fights, Assaults or Threats at City Schools Caused More Than 80 Calls for Police

By T.J. Pignataro

Violence at Buffalo schools has put a serious strain on the city’s police force.

Take last Tuesday, for instance, when a swarm of police cruisers converged on Grover Cleveland High School to sort out a melee outside the building at dismissal time. Three adults and a female student from another school were arrested.

"Twenty-three cars responded," said Central District Lt. James T. Dee. "If there’s a bank robbery at Main and Court, that makes it a little tough. It’s not like ‘Star Trek.’ You can’t just ‘beam’ a car crew over there."

So far this school year, police officials say they have received 355 calls from city schools, which have stretched their manpower and made it difficult to cover calls elsewhere in the city.

At least one police car was dispatched for 231 of those school calls, even though only about a quarter of the calls were for reported fights, assaults or threats. Police made 40 arrests at city high schools in the first 84 school days alone.

Many of the school-related calls came from students with cellular phones or from teachers or parents taking it upon themselves to notify police, according to School Superintendent James A. Williams.

While he welcomes appropriate police involvement, Williams fears there may be an overreaction to difficulties in schools. He says principals should summon police at their discretion.

"We can’t have everyone running our schools; I want our principals running our schools," Williams said. "You don’t have to call police every time something happens."

Police figures notwithstanding, school officials are downplaying the notion that violence runs rampant in Buffalo schools. In fact, Williams said, there have been 77 fewer fights this school year than at this time last year.

"About 4 percent of the students are involved [in violent or disruptive behavior]," Williams said.

Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore says even one fight is one too many.

"Kids don’t fight in church. They don’t fight at Kaufmann’s. They should know there are no fights in schools," Rumore said. "You can’t just accept that there are going to be a certain amount of fights. There should be no fights."

Rumore rejected the notion that teachers arbitrarily call police.

"Teachers don’t call police just because there’s a fight," Rumore said. "The first thing is to notify the principal or security officer . . . They call police when a student or teacher is in danger."

School officials also contend coverage of "every fight at a school" by television news crews fuels a perception that Buffalo’s schools are bastions of violence.

"I think what’s happening is they’re showing the same tapes over and over and over [when something happens] . . . especially the Lafayette tape," Williams said.

"The Lafayette tape" refers to footage captured Dec. 14, when two fights broke out simultaneously on two separate floors of the high school and spilled outside onto the street. One girl was hospitalized with a stab wound, and two faculty members — including Assistant Principal Lisa K. Robinson — were injured breaking up another fight.

Rumore says the media attention has been warranted.

"If it wasn’t for The Buffalo News and the radio news and the television media, nothing would have been done. That’s the function of the free press," Rumore said. "They [school officials] get all upset, but if there were no incidents, there would be nothing to report."

The last few weeks have been especially busy.

After an English teacher asked a student to sit down at Grover Cleveland High School, the student attacked the teacher and pushed her to the ground. That preceded the melee outside the school, and both of those incidents followed at least three others. In one of them, teachers were injured at the Bennett High Annex trying to break up a fight.

>The Lafayette incident

The incident at Lafayette — which followed several other violent episodes there — prompted Williams to announce plans to send violent students to two Opportunity Schools until an alternative school is opened next fall.

In addition, teachers at Lafayette now walk the halls during class changes, and hooded sweat shirts and gang symbols are prohibited, Williams said.

"We’ve seen a vast improvement there since we started this process," he said.

Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, wants metal detectors installed at school entrances and introducing uniformed Buffalo police officers to school hallways.

"I’m not calling for anything radical or unprecedented," Hoyt said. "My intent is to make our schools as safe as possible. The students and parents have to have peace of mind that the building they’re about to enter is a safe place."

Much of the violence that crops up in schools is actually a spillover from problems in neighborhoods, Williams said. Parents must take an active role with their children, he said, adding that early intervention is needed for students who show signs of trouble.

"The community must be part of the solution," Williams said. "Relationships are very important to improving the quality of life, education and the relationship between teachers and students."

Rumore supports early-intervention programs as well. Even the youngest children need "structure, consistency . . . and consequences," he said.

He favors bolstering the roles of school counselors, attendance teachers and social workers to identify and work with young children "when you first start seeing problems." That, he said, will prevent those problems from escalating later on.

>Addressing the problem

Several initiatives to assist students characterized as "disciplinary challenges" were unveiled by the district last week.

The district recently reached an agreement with the teachers union that allows outside community groups and social service agencies to occupy space in school buildings and provide student services not contractually reserved for district employees.

District officials also met with representatives from the judiciary, including Family Court and City Court. The judges and the district have agreed to increase information sharing about Buffalo students who come before them.

Also, recommendations for the return of the city Alternative High School are expected soon, Williams said. The new school would accommodate about 500 students from grades 7 to 12, offering a combination of academic and social service programs.

Officers are now on roving patrol around Lafayette, Grover Cleveland, Riverside and Burgard Vocational, where the bulk of student disciplinary problems are occurring.

Meanwhile, Buffalo police Inspector Michael F. Gaspar was appointed last week a special liaison to the district as a way to improve communication and bolster security in schools.

School official and police also are assembling a plan for the type of role the Buffalo police will play in the district.

"It’s a start of what’s to come . . . it’s a work in progress," said acting Police Commissioner Joseph Strano.

e-mail: tpignataro@buffnews.com