'EWA BEACH — About two dozen parents who said they're concerned with a recent spate of fights at and near 'Ilima Intermediate School heard Principal Jon Kitabayashi last night tell them that their children are safe and that additional steps are being taken to make the campus safer.

Kitabayashi also told the parents that he needs them to help monitor the situation.

West O'ahu police have reported they responded to 24 calls over fights or near fights in the Campbell High School-'Ilima Intermediate area between Feb. 1 and the first week of March.

And recently, a handful of teachers said there has been a significant number of fights on campus and some said they were fearful for their safety and their students' safety.

Several parents last night talked about the problem.

"On any given day, there's a fight," said Lionel Silva of 'Ewa Beach, whose daughter is a seventh-grader. There were two more fights last week, he said, not on campus but at fast-food restaurants near the Campbell High School complex.

Silva said he doesn't blame the school administration entirely. "Part of it is the parents needing to take control of the situation," he said.

Amber Rivera, who has a seventh-grader and an eighth-grader at 'Ilima and a third child going there next year, said she has seen an increase in the number of fights, mostly off-campus after school.

"It's just like they have to grow up overnight,"she said, noting that students from seven different 'Ewa-area elementary schools are feeding into 'Ilima. "Nowadays, I think they're just fighting for position."

Kitabayashi acknowledged that one thing the school can do better is assimilate students moving up from elementary school.

'Ewa By Gentry resident Susan Matsui, whose son is a seventh-grader, not only makes sure her son gets picked up every day but even has a group of six or seven of his friends over at their house every afternoon "just so they have a safe place."

FEWER FIGHTS SEEN

Matsui said the number of fights has declined since police stepped up patrols around the school complex in recent weeks, but she's worried police will soon stop doing that.

"I'm hoping the police presence won't stop so they can continue preventing the fights from happening," Matsui said.

Kitabayashi said that in addition to adding a fourth guard next week, the school plans to add five new video cameras around campus to the existing 16 cameras.

The principal said the rules are firm. "If there's a fight on campus, we send the student home," he said. Suspensions last one to three days. Assaults on a student who doesn't fight back can net a suspension of three to five days and could lead to an arrest, he said.

Gail Awakuni, Campbell High School principal, said that as a result of a recent meeting, a policy has changed allowing school administrators to press charges against a student. In the past, a parent would need to do so and often many would not, said 'Ilima Vice Principal Naomi Aimoto.

Kitabayashi said other measures are being considered over the two-week spring break, including the idea of having seventh- and eighth-graders wear different-colored shirts and having students wear ID tags through the school day.

PARENTS' ROLE

He also urged parents to help out. He urged them to monitor their children's MySpace and YouTube pages for fight-related content and to not take matters into their own hands. "Give me a call before something happens," Kitabayashi said.

State Rep. Kymberly Pine, R-43rd ('Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, Pu'uloa), said teachers, administrators, nearby businesses, police and other community leaders met with her and appeared willing to work together.

"They're working on a plan," Pine said.

'Ewa Beach resident Rona Martin said she wasn't entirely satisfied by Kitabayashi's assurances and believes he understated the problem by claiming only about 20 students are to blame for most of the incidents.

"Just admit that there's a problem and from there you can make a difference," Martin said.

Several parents said they only heard about last night's meeting through media reports. Kitabayashi said the meeting was supposed to have been publicized in a newsletter sent to the homes of 'Ilima students. He said he will look into why the meeting notice wasn't included in the newsletter.

"In order to involve the parents, you need to inform the parents," said Aida Carboni, a parent who said she personally has needed to stop a handful of fights herself by blowing a whistle.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.