Principal Remains on Job after Threatening to Blow Up Staff

by Dave Jolly 

Remember the boy who was on a school bus talking to his friends and said that he wishes he had a gun to protect them?  The bus driver over heard him and took back to the school, where the principal suspended him for just saying the word gun.
Or what about the six year old boy that pointed his finger at another kid and acted like he was shooting him?  He was suspended also.  Then there was the 5 year old girl that threatened to shoot another kindergartner with her Hello Kitty Bubble Gun when they got home from school.  She was also suspended.

In all of these cases, kids were instantly suspended for making threats, innocent playful threats, against other students.  The suspensions came before any investigation could be completed.
But there seems to be a difference justice for school administrators than there is for students.  Neifi Juan Acosta is the principal of New York Intermediate School 232.  He is a shining example for his students as he is known for his fiery temper and angry outbursts.
Last November, Acosta was conducting a meeting with his staff and faculty concerning what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  During the meeting Acosta went on a tirade, yelling at his staff and faculty about how much stress he is under and how frustrated he was.  He angrily told the attendees that they were in God’s seat of judgment.  One of the attendees reported:

“It got very fire and brimstone, very fundamentalist.”

Someone at the meeting asked Acosta if he was angry at the students or the faculty and he answered faculty.  Then Acosta was reported to have said:

“I know what I’ll do, I’ll call a conference in the cafeteria, and I’ll put on a vest like the terrorists do and I’m going to blow you all up.”

A number of the faculty that attended the meeting filed complaints against Acosta.  It took investigators until January to start investigating the complaints.  During the investigation, Acosta placed laminated posters with Bible verses on the classroom doors of faculty members that were scheduled to be interviewed by the investigators.
Six months after the angry threat was made, Acosta is still on the job.  He has not been placed on administrative leave nor has he been suspended.  How can the school board keep this man in his position of principal?  He cannot control his temper which is a very poor and dangerous example for his students.  If anyone anywhere in this country makes a threat to wear a vest full of explosives and blow up a bunch of people will instantly be arrested for making terrorist threats.
A 6 year old is suspended for playing and using his finger as a gun and this principal is not suspended for making a terrorist threat to his staff.  A 5 year old threatens to shoot another 5 year old with a toy gun that shoots bubbles when they got home and she is suspended, but Acosta threatens to kill his entire faculty and he’s still on the job.
While I believe all of the student suspensions are wrong and were handed down too hastily, but on the other hand, I don’t understand why Neifi Juan Acosta was not suspended or placed on administrated leave pending the investigation.  Obviously, justice is not equal for students and school administrators.