A New Jersey high school student called out her school board for doing 'nothing' to stop rampant bullying, saying she feels 'scared' and 'threatened'

• A New Jersey high school student accused administrators of doing "nothing" to stop bullying.
• "I am upset with every single one of you guys," the teen said during a packed school board meeting.

A New Jersey student at a high school where a classmate died by suicide after being attacked earlier this month accused administrators of doing "nothing" to stop rampant bullying during an emotionally-charged school board meeting on Thursday.

Central Regional High School senior Danielle Ledesma, 17, erupted into tears Thursday night during the Central Regional School District's first public meeting since 14-year-old student Adriana Kuch died by suicide on February 3.

"I am angry, and I am upset with every single one of you guys," Ledesma said at the meeting, held in the high school's auditorium in Bayville, New Jersey. "You are here to protect the students, but the students do not feel protected."

Ledesma, gathered around a group of her peers, said that she has been called hurtful names by students over the years and said administrators have "done nothing."

"I've tried so hard to just talk to just try for you guys to listen to me — for everybody here to try and listen to us," Ledesma told district officials. "We are crying. We are mourning the loss of a student, of a peer, of a best friend, of a daughter."

Ledesma also revealed that she has turned to harming herself, calling it "the only escape that I have."

"My mother was here earlier and she had said I had been cutting. That is so true," the senior said. "I am going home scared, and I am going home feeling threatened by so many people here."

She continued, "There are some people here who do not belong here, and it is incredibly messed up."

The heated school board meeting comes after Kuch, a freshman at Central Regional High School, died by suicide on February 3, two days after being attacked in a school hallway. A video of the attack circulated on social media before Kuch took her own life.

The prosecutor for Ocean County, New Jersey, announced charges against four teenagers in connection to the attack. The Independent reported that officials had charged one teen with aggravated assault, two teens with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and a fourth teen with harassment.

The school district's superintendent has also resigned.

Ledesma was among dozens of other students, parents, and community members to speak out at the jam-packed meeting. Some came forward to share their own bullying experiences.

"I've been bullied every day since the seventh grade," said junior Milo Lugo, according to NJ.com. "I've been told to ignore it, to be the bigger person and just walk away. My mom has called the school on so many occasions, spoken to the superintendent, every single person you can think of."

But Lugo said the bullying "never really stopped."

Former student Sidny Mohel said he was forced to leave the school two years ago because of bullying, NJ.com reported.

Mohel said, "hearing these people tell their stories — it's just appalling, and nothing's been done about it."

Ahead of Thursday's meeting, acting Central Regional School District Superintendent Douglas Corbett said there is no "culture of violence" within the district like some community members have alleged.

"I disagree with that, that is not my experience at all," Corbett said before the meeting, according to the Asbury Park Press. "We don't condone that, we actually do everything in our power to dissuade that."

Corbett said that the district is working on creating a steering committee to review policies, among other changes the district is planning to make in the wake of the tragedy.

"We are going to continue to educate and to get better," Corbett said, according to the news outlet. "I do have to disagree that we have done nothing, I would just have to disagree."

According to the US government website stopbullying.gov, about 20% of students ages 12 to 18 experienced bullying nationwide.