Photo by Joe Ungaro Supporters of Principal Frank Sanchez showed up for the March 14 school board meeting at the administration building on Academy Street.
Supporters of Principal Frank Sanchez showed up for the March 14 school board meeting at the administration building on Academy Street.
Signs supporting Columbia High School Principal Frank Sanchez have been popping up around town and supporters have rallied to his side while the warrant that led to his arrest was released and it provides some additional details about what led to the charges against him.
A group calling itself Friends of Frank has formed in the wake of his arrest. It describes itself as a multi-racial coalition of parent volunteers led by Black women.
“We stand behind Frank Sanchez as an excellent educator and advocate for all students,” the organization says in social media posts. “We respect the dignity of the student involved in this matter who we feel has been ensnared by agents of chaos that have kept our district from moving forward toward safety, equity, and parity.”
Sanchez turned himself in earlier this month at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and was charged with one count of second degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of simple assault, a disorderly persons offense, according to Thomas S. Fennelly, chief assistant prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, who added the charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The arrest warrant in the case was released last Thursday by the prosecutor’s office. It said that Maplewood police were notified on Dec. 22 by Acting Superintendent Kevin F. Gilbert that there had been an incident at the school in March 2023 and that an affirmative action report was generated against Sanchez.
As a result, the school district hired an outside investigator for the matter; and that due to the investigator’s findings, he was instructed to report the matter to the Maplewood Police Department.
The incident involved Sanchez and a current student at Columbia High School. The investigator determined that there was physical contact between Sanchez and the student, including “pushing, shoving, or grabbing.”
The investigation determined that a Central Office Incident Alert Form was generated on March 10. The report says Sanchez is seen on video footage with his hand on the student’s arm, pulling her towards a staircase.
At the staircase, the student pulled away from Sanchez and for the next 30 seconds the two go back and forth, with Sanchez holding the student’s arm and the student attempting to pull away. Shortly thereafter, the video footage depicts the pair falling through a door, with Sanchez holding the student against a wall, the warrant says.
A section of the form where any injuries to the alleged victim are to be detailed is blank but in the narrative of the event, police say the student informed them that she had bruising as a result of the encounter.
A GoFundMe page set up for Sanchez said that the charges stem from his effort to break up a fight on campus. The page had raised more than $36,000 in its first day before it was taken down. GoFundMe has a policy against raising money for individuals facing certain criminal charges.
Friends of Frank, using an alternative crowd funding site, Go Get Funding, have now raised more than $56,000 for Sanchez. The organization has been accepting donations and selling yard signs reading “Friends of Frank” for $10.
Members of the group and others attended a rally at town hall last week before moving on to a school board meeting where many spoke in support of Sanchez. The group is asking people to attend the March 21 school board meeting and to wear red.
The Black Parents Workshop posted on social media immediately after the arrest that the charges stem from an incident with a Black, female Columbia High School student. The organization also said it “intends to hold responsible any adults who might have been aware of this incident and failed to report this incident to the necessary authorities.”
The Black Parents Workshop also posted that it is providing legal representation to the student and her family under the counsel of BPW Legal Counsel Robert Tarver and attorney James H. Davis III.
After the arrest was announced, Gilbert sent a letter to students and families saying he was deeply saddened.
“But no matter what our feelings may be at this time, my focus, and the focus of my colleagues on the administration, must be on meeting the needs of Columbia High School students, their families and staff,” Gilbert wrote.
Sanchez came to Columbia in June of 2020 after two years as principal of Mountain Lakes High School in Morris County. He went on leave from his position about Jan. 2 of this year and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Ann Bodnar is serving as acting principal of Columbia High School until further notice.
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