Students, parents and community members can now call and leave an anonymous message about school safety concerns.

The Bettendorf Community School District and Pleasant Valley Community Schools are working in cooperation with the Bettendorf Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff's Department to offer the Safety Hotline.

"School safety is very important in our community," said Phil Redington, police chief. "We work to provide our community every opportunity to spend their days in safe environments. Schools are a particular area of concern in all communities. Our local schools are very proactive in reaching out to students, parents and the public to help improve and perhaps assure school safety."

"We believe that the addition of the Tips Hotline is a valuable tool to assist in dealing with the potential for violence in our schools," said Dale Barber, superintendent of Pleasant Valley Community Schools.

"The first line of defense for identifying this type of behavior is active student and parent involvement in reporting potential problems. We encourage our entire community to help create an awareness of this valuable resource".

The Safety Hotline telephone number is 344-4469. Callers are invited to leave an anonymous, detailed message about any school safety concern. The answering system pages a school administration pager when a message received. Program coordinators explain that all calls are confidential and will be taken seriously.

"The Safety Hotline is an example of how well our community and local schools work together," said John S. Perdue, superintendent, Bettendorf Community School District. "Not only are we asking for community involvement in school safety, but we are working together.

"We are very lucky to have great cooperation between Bettendorf Community School District and the Pleasant Valley Community Schools as well as the continued support of the Bettendorf Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff's Department."

The Safety Hotline is for Pleasant Valley and Bettendorf community schools. Students and community members are encouraged to call with any school safety concerns they have. For more information about the Safety Hotline, call Celeste Reuter at Bettendorf Community School District, 359-3681.