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Mount Pleasant Residents Want Two Schools Shut Down After Violence

MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. – Neighbors of two residences for emotionally disturbed teens in Mount Pleasant, saying lax security is putting both school staff and community residents in danger, want the schools closed, according to multiple media reports.

A coalition of residents and officials packed Mount Pleasant Town Hall on Monday to demand that safety issues at the Hawthorne Cedar Knowles School and Pleasantville Cottage School resolved.

A coalition of residents and officials packed Mount Pleasant Town Hall on Monday to demand that safety issues at the Hawthorne Cedar Knowles School and Pleasantville Cottage School resolved.

Photo Credit: Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services

Police have been called to the Hawthorne Cedar Knowles School and Pleasantville Cottage School more than 1,000 times in the last year alone, according to a report by News12.

In the most recent incident, six students – one of them a 13-year-old who was accused of trying to set a staff member on fire – were arrested after a pair of large fights broke out at Hawthorne Cedar Knowles last Friday and Saturday, multiple media reports said.

And in February, a 19-year-old girl at the Linda Avenue facility was charged with assault after allegedly hitting a staffer in the face with a chair, a past lohud.com report said.

According to reports by both News12 and lohud.com, a coalition of residents and officials packed Mount Pleasant Town Hall on Monday to demand that safety issues at the schools be resolved.

The town itself is threatening legal action if something isn’t done, the lohud.com and News12 stories said.

Hawthorne Cedar Knolls' principal, Kristin Crowley, issued a statement on the school's website that said the facility is "dedicated to providing a safe, supportive and nurturing environment for our students to grow as individuals as well as members of the community."

According to News12, the Pleasantville Cottage School said it is also focused on providing a safe environment for students and the community.

Another meeting on the schools situation is set for 6 p.m., June 10, at Town Hall, town officials said.

To read the News12 article, click here.

To read the lohud.com article, click here.

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