Attack a Grim Reminder

New statistics say Ventura County’s schools are safer than most in California and getting safer. That makes even more unacceptable last week’s attack on a loaded school bus by three suspected gang members.

Even one incident like that should bring the entire community to its feet shouting an unmistakable message to these young thugs:

This time you have gone too far. Every kid on that bus is better than you. They are going to school to get an education that will open the world for them to build successful lives any way they choose. That’s how you earn real respect, not the bogus kind you foolishly pretend you’re getting when you ride around threatening people or worse.

According to authorities and witnesses, three young men in a black Chevrolet Blazer circled Buena High School after school Wednesday, yelling profanities and flashing gang signs at students waiting for the bus. About 3:15 p.m, the bus pulled out, stopping for a red light at Telegraph Road and Victoria Avenue.

The Blazer stopped beside it and the three jumped out. One charged an emergency door at the rear of the bus, ripped it open and tried to climb on board. Students pulled the door shut and held it, kicking the attackers as they tried again to wrench it open and then smashed a bus window with a baseball bat. Three students were cut by shattered glass.

Police believe the incident is gang violence, a growing problem in Ventura County as it is across the nation. We applaud the many local efforts to steer young people away from gangs, to steer gangs away from crime and violence, and to crack down hard on those who don’t get the message. Even when dramatic scenes like this one occur, it’s important to remember that the real problems are caused by a tiny minority of young people.

What makes this incident so outrageous is its infringement on the school day. Ventura County’s schools already spend far too much of their scarce time, money and energy maintaining safety for their students and employees. It’s a shame all those resources can’t be used for better learning.

At least we have new evidence that, overall, those efforts are paying off. A statewide accounting of campus crime released last week concluded that students in the county’s 21 public school systems experienced fewer assaults, robberies and property crimes than their peers across California. Ventura County students also suffered fewer sexual assaults and carried fewer guns and knives, although they are more likely than their peers to be busted for drug or alcohol offenses.

The drama of the school bus assault should not eclipse the overall success of our schools’ safety efforts. But it reminds us that these efforts still have a long way to go.