The board received a multi-year analysis of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) reports and investigations covering the three most recent school years. Assistant Superintendent Art Howard led the review and said overall case counts are low but that the district sees meaningful trends to track.

Key findings: administrators presented three charts and the following observations:
- Overall HIB cases dropped modestly year to year; the presentation showed a decline from 38 cases to 34 in the most recent year, which administrators characterized as roughly a 10% decline.
- The middle school (grades roughly 6–8) had the largest share of HIB reports, consistent with county and state patterns that flag the 5–9 grade range as a high-risk window for peer conflict and reporting.
- Most HIB incidents recorded were verbal in nature (taunting, mocking, offensive comments, digital messages); physical HIBs were not a major portion of the cases reported.
- Importantly, the number and share of investigations that were substantiated (“found”) increased while unfounded reports decreased; administrators interpreted this as improved referral quality and stronger investigative practice.

Howard and other administrators credited several factors including anonymous reporting options, targeted assemblies and training, stronger staff interview practices and character-education initiatives (CharacterStrong) for the observed trends. Howard noted that small absolute changes can produce sizable percentage shifts because district-level HIB counts are low; board members were asked to consider both counts and percentages when evaluating trends.

Why it matters: HIB reporting and response affect student safety, discipline and state reporting obligations (SSDS). Administrators said they will continue staff training on interview and investigation techniques, extend SEL (social-emotional learning) and CharacterStrong programming, and monitor the middle school more closely.

Next steps: the district will sustain targeted prevention work, expand staff training and continue data monitoring. Administrators said the data are publicly reportable through state SSDS submissions and that Holmdel’s overall HIB numbers compare favorably with some neighboring districts.