Rochester City School Board meets about increase in teenage gun violence victims

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester City School Board met on Thursday night to discuss the increase of teens falling victim to gun violence.

Interim Superintendent Carmine Peluso presented a report showing the impact of violence on the Rochester City School District. The meeting came weeks after the attempted shooting of a 16-year-old at the steps of Franklin High School on Jan. 5. 

Peluso talked about solutions, including Rochester Police’s presence at some schools and safety upgrades like radios, metal detectors, and other scanning equipment.

“Rochester is struggling as a community with the increase in crime and violence and we’ve seen this impact it has on our students and our schools,” Peluso said. “In the last few years, we’ve seen a rise in teen homicides and violence. This is affecting our students both in their neighborhoods and at school.”

The board also examined the necessity of filling vacant jobs in the district. A recruitment fair for paraprofessionals and teaching assistants is coming up on Feb. 1. It will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., RCSD Central Office, Conference Rm #3B on 131 W. Broad Street.

More about Franklin High School incident:

• Rochester City Council approves police presence outside five city high schools (Jan. 24)
• Parents speak out after daughter narrowly escapes being shot at Franklin HS (Jan. 23)
• Uvalde Foundation looking into student safety at Franklin High School (Jan. 21)
• City Council to vote next week on putting police on school grounds (Jan. 17)
• Change groups say gun violence is violating “basic right of safety” (Jan. 16)
• RPD outside five city high schools after shooting last week (Jan. 13)
• RCSD school board not interested in reinstating school resource officers (Jan. 11)
• RSCD board votes to station police outside some schools after Franklin High shooting (Jan. 10)
• Exclusive video shows more details about shots fired outside Franklin High School (Jan. 10)
• Four Rochester school district employees put on leave after leak of security video showing students escaping gunman (Jan. 9)
• Officers stationed outside Rochester high schools after Franklin student was nearly shot (Jan. 9)
  ‘I watched somebody’s children ducking bullets’: Video shows shooting at Franklin HS (Jan. 6)
• …“School is supposed to be a second safe place to be, besides home, and unfortunately it isn’t” (Jan. 6)
• Suspect chased student and fired shots outside Frankin High school, no one injured (Jan. 5)