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Grand Jury Declines To Charge NJ Principal Arrested Last Spring

An Essex County Grand Jury declined to indict Columbia High School principal Frank Sanchez on charges of endangering the welfare of a child on Thursday, June 13, authorities announced.

Frank Sanchez

Frank Sanchez

Photo Credit: Frank Sanchez Linkedin

Sanchez still faces charges of simple assault stemming from an incident involving a student in January at the school in the South Orangewood-Maplewood School District, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.

The principal was suspended from his job following the alleged incident, as reported by Daily Voice when charges were filed in March.

Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of the South Orange & Maplewood School District, said the Grand Jury's decision is "welcome news" to students and families who had been looking forward to welcoming Sanchez back to the district.

"This has been a long ordeal that has deeply impacted a dedicated principal, husband, and father; and it has also profoundly affected one of our students – a child of one of the families we served, who was in our care and did not feel cared for," Gilbert said.  


"It is my hope that all of us take from the past few months a renewed sense of our tremendous responsibilities and the resolve to be as good as we possibly can be to each other for the sake of our students, their families, and the entire community."

Sanchez has been principal at the school since June 2020 after previously serving as a high school principal in Mountain Lakes, according to his Linkedin.

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