Last Updated on February 12, 2023
The New Jersey superintendent who blamed the family of a bullied girl’s suicide for her death has submitted his resignation, according to a report from NBC News. Triantafillos Parlapanides, the head of the Central Regional School District, resigned after an emergency board meeting on Saturday.
“The Central Regional School District Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides,” read a statement posted by the district on Sunday. It went on to state that the district is “evaluating all current and past allegations of bullying” and would undergo “an independent assessment” of its anti-bullying policies.
Parlapanides previously blamed the family of 14-year-old Adriana Kuch, who took her own life after incessant bullying at school. The ousted superintendent blamed the girl’s February 3 suicide on her father’s “affair” and claimed she was using drugs.
He also revealed personal family information to the Daily Mail, telling the outlet the girl’s father was having an affair when Adriana was in sixth grade and that her grades had declined since then. “We offered her drug rehab and mental services on five occasions, but the father refused every time,” he told the outlet.
Adriana Kuch took her own life after she was brutally beaten by four girls in the school’s hallway. The viscous assault was recorded and promptly went viral among the school community. According to the girl’s family, the girl’s continued to bully her in the days following the attack.
Kuch’s father has accused the school of covering up previous brutal assaults on his daughter. “A child was attacked with a weapon and the school’s policy was not to call the police or even file a report,” Michael Kuch told the New York Post.
“I want that entire administration gone,” he said. “The superintendent slandering people, bashing people. Calling Adriana a drug addict. What is wrong with this guy? He is incompetent.”