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Cinnaminson board hears biannual student-safety report, sees uptick in substance incidents
Summary
Superintendent Ed Capello told the board the district’s biannual SSDS report shows increases in some incident categories year-over-year — including substance incidents — while weapons reports remained very low; he urged using the data to guide prevention and supports.
Superintendent Ed Capello told the Cinnaminson Township Board of Education that the district’s biannual Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report for report period 1 (July–December) shows mixed trends and some concerning upticks, notably in substance-related incidents.
Capello said the SSDS aggregates incidents of violence, vandalism, substance use, weapons offenses, restraints and seclusions, and removals such as suspensions and expulsions, and that the district files the report with the New Jersey Department of Education. "If an incident happens in our schools we report it — we don't sweep it under the carpet and we own our data," he said.
Why it matters: The SSDS report is the district's primary public accounting of school-safety incidents required by the state. Capello contrasted year-over-year report-period figures and a longer-term trend line, noting both the effects of pandemic-era reporting changes and recent increases in select categories that guide program and staffing decisions.
Key details and numbers cited at the meeting included a cited increase at the high school where total incidents were described as moving "from 7 to 15" in the comparable report-period, and a middle-school comparison referenced in the presentation (discussed verbally as roughly "20 to 30"). Capello told the board that some categories are sensitive to small absolute changes — "one incident or two" can substantially change a percentage in low-frequency categories such as vandalism or weapons — and that the district is careful to analyze classification changes year-to-year when interpreting trends.
Capello identified substance incidents as an area of particular attention. "As there is more access to things that were previously much more difficult to obtain in the community, we have seen an uptake in some of those substances in our schools," he said, and added that the district offers triage and support programs for affected students and families.
On weapons, the presentation reported zeros across the district for the period shown, and Capello described the numbers as "exceptionally low," while stressing that any single weapons incident is taken seriously.
Board response and next steps: Board members asked no substantive follow-up questions during the public presentation. Capello said the report is publicly posted with the agenda and emphasized it is one input used to allocate counseling and prevention resources. No policy changes or board motions were made specifically to change programming during the meeting; SSDS is reported twice yearly and will be revisited in future sessions as part of the district’s monitoring and programming cycle.
Public comment on related topics: During the agenda-comment period, a member of the public raised a separate concern about the district referendum financing: Mike Coins asked that board materials be updated to reflect that a slide in a prior presentation listed a $1.5 million township contribution toward the building-improvement project, but he said township officials told him there is no plan to put that $1.5 million in the township 2026–27 budget. The board acknowledged the comment; Capello had earlier described the referendum next steps as an anticipated presentation before the local planning board.
What’s next: The board reminded the public that the FY 2026–27 budget public hearing is scheduled for April 28 at 6:00 p.m., when budget and funding questions related to the referendum and other items will be available for public review.
