A mother of a teen who was badly beaten at her school is speaking out after Broward County Public Schools reassigned the principal of Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach to another elementary school in the district.
In April, two students were arrested following a fight in the cafeteria. While it’s unclear if the reassignment was a result of the fight, the family of the student who was beaten said it isn’t enough and they want to see more done.
Christina Neptune said she pulled her 13-year-old daughter Victoria out of the school after the brawl. The family said she was beaten unconscious in the cafeteria by other students.
“It takes a toll on her daily. She’s crying daily. She still has nightmares from the incident and she still questions herself on how this could have been stopped,” Neptune said.
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Police arrested two students involved and on Tuesday NBC 6 learned the school’s principal has been reassigned to another school.
“Is that a level of punishment? Or what is their disciplinary hierarchy when things like this happen? There is no indication this principal lost pay or lost any benefits," said attorney Frank Allen.
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Neptune has fired a legal team and her attorneys say they plan on filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the district. They say educators knew about this fight after Victoria told them it was being planned and they didn’t intervene.
Attorneys even say the staff didn’t try to help during the brawl.
“We’re going to continue to pursue this case as aggressively as we possibly can,” Allen said.
Victoria’s mother said she suffered a serious concussion and goes to physical therapy daily.
Data from the district showed that from Aug. 18, 2022, to May 31, 2022, there were reports of 11 fights, one case of bullying, four physical attacks and five threats or intimidation reports.
NBC 6 has learned the principal is being reassigned to Broward Estates Elementary School.