UFT: Violence Report is Just Tip of Iceberg

By RICHARD STEIER

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said Aug. 22 that the state's classification of only 14 of the city's public schools as "persistently dangerous" illustrates chronic under-reporting of violence by administrators.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Problem is downplayed.

A spokesman for Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, on the other hand, suggested that the state Department of Education had actually improperly expanded the list of schools considered to include 11 schools which are "supposed to be exempt" because only special education students attend them. A total of 17 schools throughout the state - just three outside the city - were given the "persistently dangerous" designation.

The spokesman, Keith Kalb, added that two of the other three city schools on the list - Brooklyn's Tilden High School and the Roy H. Mann School - were unfairly placed there not because of high incidences of violence but because of the number of weapons that its metal detectors found, which were then confiscated.

Ms. Weingarten, however, said the true seriousness of the problem was indicated by State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi's audit finding that districts throughout the state have chronically under-reported school violence, and an ongoing audit by City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. dealing only with New York City schools.

"What we are seeing is a Catch-22 situation," the UFT leader said in a statement. "The penalty stakes are too high for administrators to report too many incidents. No one wants to be held accountable for reporting big numbers. So they find ways to under-report. The under-reporting then undercuts the ability to make schools safe."

Noting that the Department of Education no longer releases data on school violence, Ms. Weingarten said the union planned to provide its own reports this year as "the first step in creating a safe environment in every school so the children who want to learn can learn."