Parents of Perth Amboy students demand change amid school violence

The Perth Amboy school board and its superintendent, Dr. David Roman, were in the hot seat during a board meeting Thursday night where parents were demanding changes after some violent incidents at the schools.

This is the first board meeting being held since the stabbing of an 11-year-old student last month, and although the attack did not happen on school grounds, parents and students from the Perth Amboy Public School District said that there is too much violence going on in the schools and nothing is being done about it.

"Perth Amboy feels the same as it did since middle school, a miserable draining environment, no social change," said Lizzy Diaz, a senior at Perth Amboy High School.

The administration is being accused of sweeping the violent incidents under the rug and some parents have even asked for Roman to resign.  

Parents, staff and students said weapons are being brought into the schools, fights are breaking out in the bathrooms and parents aren't being notified. 

"The school safety is a real problem. It is your responsibility to ensure the safety of my child when he is in your care," said one concerned mother. 

Last week hundreds of Perth Amboy high school students walked out of class to protest what they said are unsafe conditions at both the high school and middle school.

Parents said there are frequent fights and they constantly fear for their children's lives. 

The district is proposing bringing in armed guards, putting in metal detectors, and conducting backpack searches, but some parents opposed the idea. 

"When did you come to the parents and ask what we want in our schools for our kids' wellbeing," said William Ortiz, a father of four students who attend school in the Perth Amboy Public School District.