News 12 at 11 o'clock -- February 6, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- At least 20 students in Richmond County have faced criminal charges so far this year and the district says it is finding new ways to crack down.

On Friday, a 13-year-old was charged with aggravated battery for striking a pregnant teacher in mid-January at Collins Elementary School.

If convicted, he could be in the juvenile justice center until he's 21, Svehla said.

There is no word on the condition of the pregnant teacher or who she is.

Fights at Josey High School have resulted in charges against more than ten other students.

Martha Tanksley's children go to school there and she is worried about her kids' education and safety.

"The kids have taken over," she said. "With all of the disturbances they're preventing my child from getting an education."

In the past month, 17 children have been charged with disorderly conduct after two fights broke out. Deputies have also charged one person with possession of marijuana and five juveniles were taken to the Youth Development Center.

"Something needs to be done," Tanksley said. "The teachers can't teach because they use all the class time trying to get the students to settle down."

She says students do whatever they want in the classroom because they feel like they can't be touched.

Over winter break, 158 windows were broken during vandalism at Copeland Elementary. Two kids were charged for breaking them.

The Richmond County Board of Education is currently seeking restitution because officers were able to catch people they say are responsible.

But vandalism is something they normally do not catch people for, spokesman Louis Svehla said.

"Anytime there's damage and we can catch the perpetrators, we always try to do that because the taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill," Svehla said. "Unfortunately most of the things happen on long weekends, late nights and holidays so they're just hard to catch."

But new Richmond County School safety officers are cracking down and making a difference, he said.

"It's certainly helped us instituting some other things into the schools, working with the officers that we have, more random searches and just being on heightened awareness," Svehla said.

Tanksley believes it's time for them to find a way to prevent these problems, for the kids' and the teachers' sake.

"If they're not going to go to school and conduct themselves like young women and men, intelligent, then they don't need to be there," Tanksley said.