VERNON -- The township school district's anti-bullying director was fired last week for allegedly trying to threaten a student to keep quiet about an altercation between the director and a 16-year-old girl, New Jersey Herald reported.

Ron Rivera, 55, a retired New Jersey State Police captain who also served as the district's security director, was fired following an internal investigation into the matter, the newspaper reported.

An 18-year-old student allegedly told the Vernon Board of Education at its May 18 board meeting he'd been confronted by Rivera in the school stairwell after Rivera allegedly used physical force on a sophomore girl, according to the report.

The 18-year-old student also reportedly told the board Rivera threatened him not to say anything about what he witnessed.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.