Barringer High Students Say School Is Chaotic
NEWARK, N.J. (WCBS 880) -- It's the middle of October, and some students at Barringer High School in Newark still don't have their schedules.
Parents and teachers said students were being deprived of a basic education and were vulnerable to violence.
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported that Newark police have been called to the school twenty times since the start of the school year.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
In one incident last month, a 17-year-old student was charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in an empty classroom.
A school spokeswoman disputed reports of widespread violence and rats and roaches roaming the halls.
However, sophomores who spoke to Diamond said Barringer was not a place parents would want to send their children.
"You got to watch your back," one student said, "you got to say 'oh my gosh, what's going to happen to me today.'"
Senior Carlos Alvarez said violence is common and believed things were better under the leadership of former principal Juan Aviles.
"He wasn't afraid, he took that power he had and put it to good use," Alvarez said.
Principal Ron Lustig resigned last Friday and school officials said a new principal would be in place by Wednesday morning.
