The superintendent of schools in New Jersey has resigned after he was quoted blaming the family of a 14-year-old girl who committed herself following a brawl at her high school.
NBC reported that Central Regional School District superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides resigned on Saturday following an unexpected meeting of the district’s governing board.
An announcement stated, “The Central Regional School District Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides,” and was published on the district’s website on Saturday night.
The district would also be undergoing an “independent audit” of its anti-bullying policy, as well as “examining all current and prior claims of bullying,” the document continued.
Parlapanides attempted to place the responsibility for Adriana Kuch’s suicide on her family on February 3, saying that her father’s “affair” and her own drug usage were to blame.
He told the Daily Mail that Adriana’s father was having an affair when she was in sixth grade and that after that, the girl’s “grades and choices plummeted in 7th and 8th grade.”
On five separate times, he added, “we offered her drug rehab and mental therapies, but the father always declined.”
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Michael Kuch said his daughter was just experimenting with a cannabis vape like other teenagers and that she had never been offered drug therapy.
According to her family, Adriana was ridiculed to the point where she committed suicide two days after being severely battered by four classmates in a school hallway.
On Saturday, Kuch told The Post, “I want that entire administration gone.” The headmaster has been spreading rumors and badmouthing employees. Admitting that Adriana has a drug problem. Aw, man, what gives with this guy? It’s clear that he lacks the skills necessary to do his job.
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The news of Adriana’s resignation was met with relief by her loved ones, according to Jennifer Ferro, her sister-in-law.
The school needs to start making changes and accepting responsibility, Ferro said.
