Special to KinstonPress

The number of violent or criminal incidents in public schools rose slightly during the 2006-2007 school year, but the overall rate decreased due to the fast-growing student population.

The state Department of Public Instruction says North Carolina schools reported slightly more than 11,000 acts of crime and violence during the 2006-2007 school year. That's an increase of 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. But the rate of criminal incidents dropped to 7.77 acts per 1,000 students, compared to 7.90 in 2005-2006.

Nearly 85 percent of the incidents were for drug or alcohol possession or having a weapon that wasn't a gun or explosives. The report was released Wednesday to the State Board of Education. More details and statistics from the report are online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2007-08/20071205-01