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Superintendent presents full-year HIB student-safety report; district will use data as baseline for goals
Summary
The superintendent presented the district’s 2025–26 HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) report — 13 confirmed HIB cases, 18 investigations and 3 predeterminations — and said the data will serve as the baseline for district goals. A follow-up Q&A addressed a vaping incident involving THC and the district’s practice of notifying police.
The superintendent presented the Denville Township K-8 School District’s full-year HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) and student-safety report for the 2025–26 school year and said the district will use the data as a baseline for goal-setting.
Key figures presented: 13 confirmed HIB cases, 18 investigations and 3 predeterminations. The superintendent reported 3 substance-abuse incidents, 0 weapons incidents, 1 vandalism incident, 4 reported acts of violence (two separate incidents at Valley View involving multiple students), 24 in-school suspensions and 3 days of out-of-school suspension. The district ran 42 HIB trainings and 137 programs focused on student relationships, safety and family engagement.
During questioning, a board member asked whether the substance-abuse incident involved vaping; the superintendent responded that the device was a vape containing cannabis/THC. The superintendent explained the district notifies police on suspected incidents but said local police often do not pursue legal action on underage cannabis possession because of state law; the superintendent emphasized that none of the incidents described in the report resulted in criminal charges in this cycle.
The superintendent said the report shows a small increase in confirmed HIB cases compared with 2024–25 and noted the importance of placing the figures in the context of enrollment. The report identified Valley View as having a higher number of incidents — consistent with expectations for secondary grades — while elementary schools recorded mostly zeros.
The superintendent said the HIB report will feed into district goals and strategies to reduce incidents and repeat offenders. The administration plans restorative-justice training, a revision of the code of conduct, and enhanced parent awareness work tied to the HIB and code-of-conduct changes.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Miller delivered a brief enrollment update: Lakeview kindergarten 98, Riverview kindergarten 94, totaling 192 kindergarten students for the district.
Next steps: revised district 2026–27 goals will appear on the August agenda for board review and approval; administration described the HIB report as a baseline to measure progress on those goals.
