Racism 'took root' and 'flourished' at North Jersey high school, former students claim

A lawsuit filed by two Black students against North Warren Regional High School claims they were subjected to "extreme, egregious and widespread" discrimination that reached such a level of cruelty that it allegedly forced one of them to withdraw from the school due to inaction by administration and staff.

The complaint, filed in the New Jersey District Court and amended on June 30, takes aim at the district's purported refusal to address widespread racism in the Warren County school that, despite progress made over decades to eradicate systemic racism, instead "was permitted to take root and flourish," according to the lawsuit.

The unlawful bias was purportedly so "ingrained" at the 7th-12th grade district that the taunting and bullying allegedly proved inescapable for the two Black students, a male and female, who were minors at the time of the allegations. Now adults, the woman attends college in Georgia and the man resides in New Jersey, the complaint states.

The former students are seeking unspecified damages from the school and its board of education, as well as from four employees: Tina Richie, the director of student services and anti-bullying coordinator; Jeanene Dutt, then-principal who is now the school's superintendent; Sarah Bilotti, then-superintendent who resigned in 2022; and teacher and wrestling coach Kellen Bradley, who resigned from the school earlier this year.

The case, which details a six-year period of alleged race-based ridicule, harassment and assault, is an effort to shed light on the disparities the Black students faced in a predominantly white, rural school that have run rampant for years, the suit said. It also intends to force change at the school after administration turned a blind eye to misconduct that the former students say "exceeded all possible bounds of human decency," according to the lawsuit.

Dutt said in an email to the New Jersey Herald this week that "out of respect for the confidentiality rights of the students, we are not at liberty to comment in the press beyond stating that we respectfully disagree with the claims and look forward to defending against them in court."

Efforts to reach Ritchie, Bilotti, Bradley and Taylor Casey, president of the board of education, were unsuccessful. An attorney representing the named defendants is not yet listed in court documents.

Students called slaves, suit claims

The Black students — the girl started 7th grade in 2016 and the boy in 2018 — say they were called the "N-word" by other students so often, it became common practice without any repercussions by administration and staff, according to the complaint. Efforts made to address the racism that allegedly infiltrated the school went stale, and despite several confirmed Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) incidents, issues at the school never stopped, the suit claims.

The suit notes one single circumstance where a student was disciplined for calling the male student the "N-word," which came to light when another student happened to report it to administration, but states that the use of the word in school often just went unchecked.

While referring to the use of the racial slur, the suit states: "The horrible reality was that many students at the school called [the male Black student] the ["N-word"] regularly and did so with casual ease passing in the hallway, in the lunchroom, on the bus, in the classroom, and at athletic events," according to the complaint.

The boy withdrew from North Warren during the winter of 2022 and enrolled in an online school program. The girl sought to leave the school in 2020, but ultimately stayed due to the COVID pandemic shifting classes to online, she said. She graduated in 2022.

The female student recalled a moment in 2016 when a white male student grabbed her backpack strings in the hallway in front of other students and said, "Look, I have a slave on a leash," the suit states. The statement came with such ease from the student, that it "scared" her, she said. Richie did not offer any assistance or protection to the girl, but the anti-bullying coordinator allegedly told the student to "create a curriculum" to educate incoming students, the suit states.

In October 2018, the boy said he was changing in the gym locker room when another student called him a "slave" and whipped him with a belt on the back of the leg, causing a cut, the suit claims. It was one of several incidents where gym teachers were usually within earshot but did nothing, the former student claims.

He also recalled a moment that school year when fellow students showed him a poster and asked him to join the "KKK," which the students allegedly laughed off as the "Kool Kids Klub," the suit claims.

While both students found some relief during the pandemic when classes went virtual — the male student said it was "one of the best moments" in his high school life — the purported racism continued upon return to school during the 2020-2021 school year.

It was alleged in 2021 that students created a Snapchat group focused on what discriminatory names they could call the Black male student — slurs that were later used by students in school and sometimes in front of teachers, the suit alleges. One of the names stemmed from a Black character on the TV show "South Park," who was often ridiculed while attending an all-white school on the show.

The girl, who was part of the cross-country team, claims she was subjected to the casual and repeated use of racial slurs by other teammates, despite her demands they stop. The boy, who joined the wrestling team in November 2021, said students hurled racial slurs openly and every day, usually in the presence of faculty and coaches, the suit says.

The boy said the unending bombardment of racial epithets became so overwhelming, he avoided his teammates before matches. During one of his exchanges with wrestlers, the Black student says he was "compared to George Floyd."

The boy's mental health began to suffer in late January 2022 when, during a wrestling meet, teammates were in the wrestling room and knelt down, made a Black power sign with their fist and then turned it into a Nazi salute, a gesture that brought the students "amusement," the suit claims. The boy was also taunted while being weighed in for the match, which occurred in front of coaches, the suit states.

The Black student said he began losing focus and felt a great deal of anxiety, leading his mom to reach out to Bradley, the head wrestling coach, with her concerns. Bradley, the suit says, responded "generally," but failed to address her concerns.

It was just days later that the Black student said fellow wrestlers tackled him and held him down while another student gestured a Nazi salute, which was recorded on a cellphone, the suit says. One of the wrestlers then "pretended to rape" the Black student, which was allegedly a "subject of amusement" among the team, the suit claims.

The boy later broke down, said he could "no later take it anymore," and withdrew from the wrestling team on Feb. 14, 2022. His mom had previously spoken to Bradley about her concerns, but she claims he ignored the bullying and racism, never addressed it nor took steps to protect her son.

The mom filed a HIB complaint on Feb. 15, 2022, and the boy withdrew from school on Feb. 28, 2022. Bilotti later notified the boy's mother that her son was found to be a victim of HIB and six students were suspended, the suit says. The parent met with several administrators in hopes they would take steps to stop race-based bullying at the school, but when she suggested they place a timeline or put a plan in place, Dutt simply responded, "No," the suit says.

The girl suffered her own mental health issues and felt isolated at school, which led to her dropping out of the student council, and caused her difficulty focusing in class and having a hard time sleeping, she said. Students would often throw pieces of paper in her hair, which was often mocked by others due to it being different from theirs, and she says she was asked by a teacher if her hair was a wig, causing her embarrassment among her all-white fellow students, the suit says.

The suit states the former students have suffered severe emotional distress and physical and psychological injuries and claims violations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs, including public schools.

Racial, ethnic breakdown and HIB reports

Like many public schools across the state, North Warren, which serves students from Blairstown, Frelinghuysen, Hardwick and Knowlton, has seen a large decrease in enrollment since the 2016-17 school year, where there were 879 students compared to 619 in the latest school year. Some experts attribute the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for declining enrollment across the state.

Despite changes in enrollment, the school's racial and ethnic breakdown hasn't changed much since 2016, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The girl was one of five Black students in the 7th grade when she started in 2017, the data shows, and among 18 Black students in the school. The boy was one of 19 Black students when he began the 7th grade in 2018, and just one of two in his grade.

The district has had 83 confirmed HIB incidents over the past eight school years, according to data from the New Jersey Department of Education. See how the reports compared each school year:

• 2023-2024: 14 confirmed HIB incidents; nine race-related.

• 2022-2023: 27 confirmed HIB incidents; nine race-related.

• 2021-2022: 15 confirmed HIB incidents; five race-related.

• 2020-2021 (COVID pandemic): One confirmed HIB incident, one race-related

• 2019-2020: Six confirmed HIB incidents; two race-related

• 2018-2019: Seven confirmed HIB incidents; one race-related

• 2017-2018: Six confirmed HIB incidents; one race-related

• 2016-2017: Seven confirmed HIB incidents; data did not break down the nature of the HIB

Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Racism 'flourished' at Warren County school, former students say