Many school administrators and school districts have underplayed the extent of violence in their schools. Trump (2005) reveals that some school officials believe that the public will perceive them to be incompetent leaders and poor managers if the extent of school violence was known. This report also indicates that fear of voter funding requests and less parental/community support drove many of these administrators to deny the severity of school violence. On the national level, Trump states that accurate reporting would change the perception of the public and would create the need for more federal funding in a time when less funding was being voted on by Congress. Other school administrators, however, have taken a tougher stance on school violence and have perceived it to be a serious problem. Cited in a report by the National Education
Association (“It Can Happen” 1999), Goff advises fellow colleagues not to let denial or fear be a barrier in creating safe schools.