Mother Vindicated After Defending Daughters Rights at School Board Meeting
METUCHEN, NJ – On Thursday, September 30 criminal charge were dismissed against Cindy Schwalb, who cursed out the principal at Hasbrouck Heights Middle School for the manner in which he handled an incident where her daughter was pantsed by a boy at school.
The case was heard by the Honorable Roy F. McGeady; the Presiding Judge of Municipal Courts in Bergen County. McGeady dismissed the disorderly conduct charge against Cindy Schwalb on a technicality, ruling that the ordinance cited by police is covered by state laws.
The decision concludes a controversy that placed Schwalb in the national spotlight. Although Schwalb admitted acting inappropriately, she was steadfast in her opinion that the principal handled the situation poorly.
Schwalb and school officials have been at odds since May 2009, when a seventh-grade boy pulled down her 13-year-old daughter’s sweatpants in front of other students before gym class.
Middle School Principal Edward Bolcar signed a complaint against Schwalb in September 2009 after she cursed at school officials and called Bolcar a vulgar name at back-to-school night, police said. Schwalb said she erupted after parents heard only briefly about the school’s plans to address pantsing – pulling down another person’s pants to embarrass them — and sexual harassment.
District officials disciplined the boy, Superintendent Joseph Luongo said in a letter sent to Schwalb after the pantsing incident. He was suspended for a day, given three days of Saturday detention, barred from a class trip and prescribed sensitivity sessions, the letter said.
School officials said they also talked to seventh-grade boys about sexual harassment and asked physical education teachers to step-up their vigilance.
McGeady, who presided over the case in Central Municipal Court in Hackensack Thursday, agreed to dismiss the charge after Schwalb’s attorney, Caesar Brazza from Vlasac & Shmaruk, argued that the borough ordinance she was charged with violating was not valid because the state statute preempted the town ordinance in regards to public conduct.
“We are very pleased with the judge’s decision. This decision proves that the system works and that when people file frivolous and baseless charges against an innocent person that person does have
recourse, said John M. Vlasac, Jr. lead counsel for Vlasac & Shmaruk . We were always confident that the court would see these charges for what they were and Judge McCreedy got it right. I only wish Mrs. Schwalb and her family could have been spared the anxiety and mental anguish this situation caused over the past year. “
Vlasac & Shmaruk is a full service law firm serving New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, providing representation in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability ,automobile accidents, construction accidents, slip and falls, workers compensation and general negligence cases. Vlasac & Shmaruk has offices in Metuchen, Hamilton, Fair Lawn, New Jersey as well as Feasterville, PA.
