Students, parents beg school district for help after teen's suicide over bullying
‘Outnumbered’ hosts discuss how a New Jersey school failed to act against bullying before a teenage girl committed suicide.
This story may contain details that are disturbing. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
One by one, students and parents at a New Jersey school board meeting recounted how they or their children were tormented by bullies like the ones who attacked Adriana Kuch, who took her own life, while district officials did nothing.
But new superintendent Douglas Corbett said before Thursday night's meeting that he doesn't believe there is a culture of violence and bullying in the district.
Skeletons in the school district's closet have come back to haunt Central Regional High School since 14-year-old Adriana was found dead in her home on Feb. 3 after the video of her hallway assault was shared widely on social media.
This enflamed the community, and tensions boiled over during Thursday's meeting that was attended by hundreds of angry and grieving students and parents.
Adriana Kuch is remembered as "a beautiful girl who was happy, funny, stubborn, and strong." (Michael Kuch)
One student said he's been desensitized to the flurry of racist comments hurled at him. Another student said she had to be treated in a mental hospital because she inflicted self-harm after she was bullied for being gay.
Adriana's friend, Hailie Engesser, said during the meeting that she was bullied herself and reported it to no avail.
"I’ve just been told to ignore it, to be the bigger person, walk away," she said.
Fox News Digital has received numerous emails from parents and students detailing specific incidents of bullying that range from bigoted insults to brutal assaults.
There's a current lawsuit against the school district for a nearly identical hallway attack on another student that was recorded and uploaded to social media.
Adriana Kuch in an undated photo. (Michael Kuch)
"I had a student that came into the district happy and healthy. He didn't require doctors or psychiatric help, who now is medicated," one parent said during the meeting.
"We're hurting. They're hurting. My daughter comes home, and she's scared and she doesn't want to go to school," another parent said as she choked back tears.
ADRIANA KUCH DEATH: NJ COUNTY PROSECUTOR MET WITH SCHOOL OFFICIALS AFTER BULLIED TEEN TOOK HER LIFE
The rowdy crowd yelled over school board members as they went through the scheduled agenda, and board president Denise Wilson threatened to shut down the meeting.
Central Regional Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides resigned amidst the backlash, but Adriana's dad, Michael Kuch, has said in previous interviews that he wants a complete overhaul of the administration.
Adriana Kuch, a 14-year-old New Jersey high school student, took her own life after video was posted online of a group of girls attacking her. (Michael Kuch)
Before the meeting started, Corbett, the new superintendent, said during a press briefing that he didn't think there was a culture of violence and bullying in the district.
After the briefing, the school district emailed the media a new "action plan to prevent and combat bullying."
ADRIANA KUCH WAS A YOUNG LIFE LOST TO SCHOOL BULLYING AND LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY: TREY GOWDY
"Everyone at Central Regional School District and High School mourns the loss of Adriana Kuch," Corbett said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends in this difficult time. The circumstances of her passing are disturbing, and we share the community’s shock."
The nine-point action plan included starting a steering community and hiring an outside agency to review current bullying policies, reviewing cellphone policies, district training on how to handle bullying situations, and a number of educational measures for students, among other items.
He stressed that the plan is preliminary and fluid.
"These are just a few examples of ideas, and we look forward to developing these and other initiatives further," Corbett said.
One item noticeably absent from the plan is when officials will call police after there's a physical assault, which didn't happen after Adriana was attacked and it didn't happen when another student was attacked in January 2022, according to an ongoing lawsuit.
Involving the police was "certainly a topic of discussion," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer told Fox News Digital last week after he met with school officials and students.
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Four students, whose names haven't been released because of their ages, were criminally charged in connection with the hallway attack.
One juvenile is charged with aggravated assault, two juveniles were charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and the fourth juvenile was charged with harassment.
All four students involved in the attack have been expelled from the local high school.
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