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Superintendent reports 18 SSDS incidents for Jan–June period; district invoked code-of-conduct option nine times
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Thomas Caputo presented the Student Safety Data System (SSDS) period-2 report for January–June 2025: 18 incidents were recorded districtwide, with 13 at Edgar and 5 at Metuchen High School; administration invoked the policy option to treat some matters under the code of conduct (Option G) nine times.
Superintendent Thomas Caputo presented the Student Safety Data System (SSDS) period-2 report at the Metuchen Board of Education meeting on July 22, reporting incidents and administrative responses for January through June 2025.
Caputo said the district recorded 18 SSDS incidents during period 2: 13 were reported at Edgar School and five at Metuchen High School. The report included incident counts by category (violence, vandalism, substances, weapons and HIB-related incidents) and noted that most category counts on the overview chart were zero; the full slide deck and data were posted on the district website under superintendent presentations.
Caputo also reported that, under district policy, administrators may invoke an Option G process that treats certain incidents as code-of-conduct matters (administrative discipline) when the facts would not meet the statutory threshold for an HIB finding. He said administration used that Option G nine times during the reporting period (seven at Edgar, two at the high school) and included comparative figures from the prior year for board review.
Caputo thanked Ms. Saljevic for compiling and submitting the data and reminded the public that the SSDS report is a statutorily required report filed twice per school year. The slides and the underlying data are posted on the district website for public review.
Why it matters: SSDS/HIB reporting informs the board and public about safety measures, disciplinary trends and how the district treats incidents that may fall under the Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) statute or under local disciplinary policies.
Next steps: The administration will continue routine reporting and provide additional context in board packets where needed. Parents and community members were directed to the posted materials for the detailed breakdown of categories by school.
Source: Superintendent presentation at Metuchen Board of Education meeting, July 22, 2025; data prepared by Ms. Saljevic.
