Group challenges NYC over school violence

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - A parents group has come out swinging at the mayor, accusing him of lying about declining school violence. The mayor says it is all nonsense. So we took the issue to someone who knows school safety inside out and you won't believe what he told us.

The escalating war of words and dueling statistics was set off when Families for Excellent Schools issued its report on the violence impacting the city's nearly 1 million schoolchildren. The group said 2015 was the most violent on record for city schools.

But Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed the schools are safer, with fewer unnecessary police interventions. He said crime has gone down as have suspensions.

Gregory Floyd, the president of the union that represents school safety agents, said that the "warning card" may be one reason suspensions are down. Instead of being suspended for offenses like bringing seven bags of marijuana to school or fighting, students are given the warning card and are allowed to remain in class. Floyd called this a "reclassification of crime." Floyd said another disturbing trend is the pressure to do away with metal detectors. He also said he is most concerned about the impact the troublemakers will have on the 90 percent of kids who want to learn.