NEWARK — One month into the school year, Newark's Barringer High School is in a state of chaos due to scheduling fiascoes, deteriorating building conditions and a lack of leadership, according to parents and a former school leader.

Interviews with parents, school officials, school advisory board members and former Principal Jose Aviles describe a breakdown that is leaving students vulnerable to violence and depriving them of a basic education.

On Thursday, about 50 students expressed their dissatisfaction with the conditions by staging a staggered walkout stretching over several hours.

"Students are wandering and fighting. Since most students now have two different schedules in their possession, no one is sure what lunch they have or where they really belong," said one Barringer teacher, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

"It seems the administration has no direction. This is the worst start I’ve ever seen," said the teacher, a veteran of more than 20 years in the district.

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Attempts to reach schools Superintendent Clifford B. Janey about conditions at Barringer were unsuccessful. But Janey did issue a statement Friday about the student action:

"There was no walkout of the student body at Barringer Saturday. Forty-one of the approximately 1,300 students bolted out of the school unauthorized; without incident — as evidenced by the 88 surveillance cameras within the school. Such actions placed students at risk of getting hurt. The 41 students will be disciplined appropriately."

However, parents and school officials said the problems at Barringer began when its 1,300 students arrived for the first day and were given incorrect class schedules or no schedules at all.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board on Sept. 22, the district’s chief academic officer, Sadia White, acknowledged the scheduling nightmare.

"We can safely say the problem was widespread to the tune of the enrollment of the school," White said. She added that schedules had been corrected by Sept. 20, the date school officials termed the "second first day of school."

But according to parents, students were still without schedules as of Friday.

"They’re not giving her homework because the schedules are mistaken. There’s still no schedule," said Ana Polanco, the mother of a Barringer freshman. "I’m worried because, the other day, I was there and there was a big fight. She’s scared because she doesn’t like to walk alone around there."

Hector Castillo, the father of two Barringer students, said the teachers and administrators have corralled students into the library, where they wait without instruction.

"They’re supposed to go to the library, but eventually they’re just running around the hallways. You can see them in the park or in the streets," Castillo said last week. "We saw students smoking and drinking on the school steps."

Newark police have been called to the school on more than 20 occasions in the 25 school days between Sept. 2 and Oct. 7, according to Detective Hubert Henderson. On Sept. 22, a female student was sexually assaulted in an empty classroom by a male student, who has been charged with second-degree assault, according to city police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Barringer has been suffering from poor conditions for years, said Aviles, the former principal. He said all of the 88 doors "were pretty much broken," holes in the walls allow rats and mice in the building, the roof has holes and many rooms are without thermostats.

Janey’s statement also addressed the sanitation concerns: "The Newark Public Schools takes the issue of safety and hygiene quite seriously, despite the age of the infrastructure of our schools. Our facilities team regularly cleans Barringer, as well as all of our buildings, on a daily basis."

Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks indicated parents have been kept informed about efforts to "restore a secure and orderly environment" at Barringer. "We must get students in class, and they must be safe. The department, in cooperation with local officials, is taking immediate action to correct conditions at Barringer High School," Hendricks said.

In addition to the violence and the student walkout, the school has no leader; Principal Ron Lustig resigned Friday, one month into the school year, according to Janey’s statement.

"We hope to have a principal appointed Tuesday," said Angel Juarbe, an executive assistant to Janey.

Aviles said he had begun to make progress at Barringer, but says Janey demoted him to vice principal of Peshine Elementary School after an opinion piece he wrote criticizing district leadership appeared in The Star-Ledger in March.

"I was devastated when he moved me," Aviles said.

In his two years at Barringer, Aviles instituted measures to foster school pride and get a handle on the disciplinary problems. Under his leadership, test scores rose slightly, a student government was established and four school sports teams made the playoffs for the first time in years.

After being transferred, Aviles resigned; he currently is dean of students at the Newark Collegiate Academy, a TEAM charter school. Newark school officials declined to comment on his transfer.

By David Giambusso and Jessica Calefati/Star-Ledger staff