At a time when crime appears to be a growing concern in the Santa Barbara community, Santa Barbara Unified School District data show an alarming increase in weapons on campuses over the past year.

“Our goal is to make our campuses safe places and respond appropriately when situations happen,” Superintendent Hilda Maldonado told Noozhawk.

“However, things do unfortunately happen.”

The number of fights or forceful contact on campus has risen to 119 so far this school year from 103 in the prior year, according to district statistics.

In addition, Maldonado said, district employees have confiscated 64 “dangerous objects,” including knives, box cutters and air-soft plastic pellet guns in grades seven through 12.

A year ago, she said, the number was 52.

“We encourage anyone who has information on a potential safety threat to reach out to school site leaders so the situation can be handled appropriately,” Maldonado said.

She added that “given these statistics, our schools remain safe places.”

News of the rise in school incidents comes amid the aftermath of the Dec. 9 fatal shooting of a Camarillo tourist on Stearns Wharf.

According to Santa Barbara police, 52-year-old Robert “Rob” Gutierrez — described as “an innocent bystander” — was caught in a shootout between members of two criminal street gangs, one from Santa Barbara’s Westside and the other from Ventura County.

Gutierrez died of his wounds on Dec. 20.

Authorities have arrested seven people in connection with the shooting, four of whom are minors and the others men in their early 20s.

City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez, who is not related to Rob Gutierrez, told Noozhawk that he is making youth safety one of his top priorities.

He recently called for a joint meeting between the city and the school district and wants to have a town hall to discuss youth safety.

Gutierrez also asked the district to reopen schools after-hours to give students an opportunity to stay on campus.

“I have been asking them to reopen the campuses, so the community has a place to spend time in,” he said. “I remember when I grew up the campuses were open after school.”

Schools, he added, provide places for people to play basketball, soccer and other sports.

“That is a real shame,” Gutierrez said. “In Santa Barbara, we don’t have as many open spaces that we need. It would keep them busy.”

Gutierrez, who grew up on the Westside and represents District 3 there on the council, also said he wants the city to reinstitute its youth employment program to provide jobs for students.

The program, he noted, was put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paid internships also should be a priority, he said.

“There are so many studies that show that if you want to reduce crime with youth, you should employ them,” Gutierrez said.

A year ago, he said, he and Councilman Eric Friedman worked with school district officials to hold a “Summer Nights” series.

The events were held at La Cumbre Junior High School, at 2255 Modoc Road on the Westside, but there was a perception that they were only for La Cumbre students.

This time, Gutierrez said, he wants the events held at locations on both the East and West sides, such as Ortega Park and Bohnett Park.

Gutierrez said recent crime incidents have had an impact on him.

“It feels dire in certain parts of town,” he said. “It is eye opening for me because it reminds me that I need to work more with these families to address the needs they have.”

Maldonado said she, too, wants to create more opportunities.

“Our goal is to keep students engaged in school by offering extracurricular activities to learn life skills and values that can guide them throughout their lives,” she said.

“We also know coming out of the pandemic, there are unique needs for students.”

School board member Wendy Sims-Moten told Noozhawk that the board understands the stress that students are under.

“The safety in our youth is utmost,” she said. “We have been very intentional in the things we are doing. There are social workers in our schools.”

Sims-Moten added that the district can’t do it alone and that partnerships are needed.

“It is community as well,” she said.

She said the district conducted a “listening tour” a few months ago to hear about what’s happening at the school sites. She added that it’s important that the district focus on social-emotional learning to help students feel more welcome at school.

“I always say ‘you have to go school,’ but we also want you to want to go to school,” Sims-Moten said.

Maldonado said the district has invested in new positions such as youth outreach workers and crisis counselors, to focus on school connectedness and exposure to new experiences “for our most vulnerable students.”