A Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigation has been started within West Milford High School

West Milford Public Schools Superintendent Alex Anemone sent out the following to residents of the district on June 3, 2020:

Earlier today, we were notified that a group of West Milford High School students, while on a group text, directed hostile and racially insensitive words towards an African-American student from another community.

As a National District of Character, we stand united against hatred and bigotry and ask all members of our school community to use this as a teachable moment for their children. A Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) investigation has been started and we are also cooperating fully with the West Milford Police Department. The administration of the Vernon Township School District has also been notified.

These investigations may result in severe disciplinary consequences for all students involved.

I would like to take a moment to thank the members of the WMHS student body who contacted me privately to express their anger, frustration, and distaste of what transpired. In doing so, they displayed courage that belies their age. They give me great hope that our country’s future is in great hands and that bigotry and discrimination will be consigned to the trash heap of history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

I urge you all to join me in renouncing this type of behavior; there is no place for it in our community.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” This quote from minister Theodore Parker dates back to the pre-Civil War abolition movement. It is now 2020. We have a long way to go. Enough.

Alex Anemone, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools