Former NJ gymnastics coach cleared of bullying charge for 'clearly inappropriate' behavior

A former Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School gymnastics coach has been cleared of bullying charges when more than four years ago she allegedly singled out a sophomore member of the gymnastics practice team during an awards banquet for not returning her leotard on time.

The Office of the N.J. Commissioner of Education upheld an Administrative Law judge's ruling that Lisa Cerchio, who had coached the gymnastics team for 16 years, did not commit an act of the bullying at the 2019 awards banquet at the Darby Road Restaurant.

Though the Commissioner's office found Cerchio's behavior at the December banquet was "clearly inappropriate and unprofessional," it was not as an act of bullying as determined by the district's school board.

The Office of the Commissioner wrote that the school board's finding that Cerchio's behavior was an act of bullying was "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable."

The Office also concluded there was no evidence that Cerchio, who led one of the biggest high school gymnastics programs in the state, acted in a way that "substantially disrupted or interfered with the rights of other students or the orderly operations of the school," as outlined in state law.

The incident leading to the charge occurred on Dec. 16, 2019, after the team had won the Union County gymnastics championship that season.

During the banquet, according to the 67 pages of papers filed with the Office of Commissioner's decision released publicly on Monday, Cerchio called each member of the team to the front of the room to present a certificate or award.

When the coach called up the sophomore, identified in papers only by her initials, Cerchio testified in the investigation that she hugged the student and praised her "for working hard during the season, for doing work with her peers to make them better gymnasts and for being a good gymnastic dancer."

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Later, as the guests were preparing to leave, Cerchio testified she picked up the student's leotard, gave it to her and told her it had to be returned to the school or the athletic director.

But other witnesses disagreed about the details of the incident.

The student testified during the investigation that Cerchio "went on and on about the leos," said one student did not follow the instructions for returning the leotard and then, using the student's name, "come get your leo."

The student said the incident was "very uncomfortable" for her and her teammates.

Four other team members confirmed that Cerchio "called out" the student in front of others and said it was an embarrassing moment.

Another witness said that Cerchio took the leotard during the middle of her speech and "threw it" at the student.

The student also testified that Cerchio was "rude," "not nice" and has favorites. The student also said she was already planning to quit the team before the incident because she "didn't like the team environment."

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Cecrhio testified that the student did not follow the procedure for returning the leotard. The student had two weeks to return the leotard to a box on the front porch of the coach, who would then return ii to the athletic director who needed them by a certain date.

But a day after Cerchio return the leotards to school, the student's leotard was dropped off on the porch. The coach then texted the student to pick up the leotard from the coach's house and return it to the school herself.

When the student did not pick up the leotard, Cerchio brought it to the banquet. The coach said she gave the leotard to the student and told her to bring it to the athletic department.

The student's mother then reported the incident to school administrators who then initiated an investigation.

Two months later the superintendent reported to the school board about the investigation's findings. The board voted to affirm the findings and three months later, Cerchio appealed the finding, setting off the legal proceedings which led to the state decision almost four years later.

A GoFundMe page started by Cerchio's husband raised $4,400 of the $50,000 goal for her legal expenses.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ high school gymnastics coach cleared of bullying charge