Tooele County schools are getting safer, according to school officials

Terry Linares, assistant superintendent for the Tooele County School District, presented the annual Safe School Report to the Tooele County School Board Tuesday evening, saying the total number of incidents is down from last year.

Dan Johnson, the district's secondary education director, while expressing concern over any dangerous incident, commented that after having worked in schools in three different states, the rate of incidents in Tooele School District is comparatively much lower than in other places he has worked.

The largest number of reportable incidents involved truancy. Linares stated that according to district policy and state law, truant students are fined $20 and an additional $20 for the next violation. After that, they may be referred to the juvenile court for habitual truancy.

While no guns or firearms were reported in Tooele County Schools during the 2006-2007 school year, there were 10 knife incidents recorded last year. These include any student bringing any size of knife to school.

Any behavior prohibited by the safe schools policy that involves a threat of harm to self or others requires a risk assessment before the students are returned to normal school activity. The assessment determines the best course of action for the safety of the student and others at the school. This assessment involves parents and the student.

Tobacco users are referred to the Tobacco End program. The Tobacco End program has been developed in conjunction with Valley Mental Health prevention specialist Julie Spindler. It is taught by tobacco prevention specialists Rachael Cowan and Melanie Castagno. The program includes education on reasons to quit using tobacco, alternative activities, communication techniques, stress reduction and problem solving. The program also includes a nutrition component to help students avoid weight gain when they quit smoking.

A case management team consisting of the appropriate district director, a school principal, the special education director, the curriculum director and other specialists as needed, reviews how each incident was handled and makes recommendations for action.

Safe School statistics are recorded and reported annually to the school board.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com