A former Deptford High School student and her parents are suing the district for failing to respond to alleged harassment by teachers.

The student, identified only by the initials A.C., says she was harassed over her father's position on the township board of education so badly that she had to leave the district at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

Her parents are also identified only by their initials, but a current board member has confirmed A.C.'s father is former member Robert Condo. The suit also names several John Does as defendants in addition to the district.

The series of incidents and confrontations detailed in the Nov. 3 filing center on the end of a difficult school year for the Deptford board of education. The board in 2013 had been met with strong public backlash after an unpopular school budget, and officials were doing battle with parents over what some considered the improper hiring of Walter "Butch" Berglund as the district's buildings and grounds manager.

The lawsuit says that on April 24, 2013, two teachers, Michelle Galuzzo and Daniel Fishman, began discussing Condo in front of A.C. and told the student her father "needed to be removed from the school board because he was corrupt."

The next day, A.C.'s mother met with Vice Principal Meredith Howell, who sent out an email to staff and faculty asking them not to make comments about board members while at school. After the email, the family alleges A.C.'s homeroom teacher, Amanda Naegle, continued to make disparaging comments about Condo in the student's presence. Naegle also once said to another teacher in class that the email had been sent out because of A.C., and that the girl had "gotten Naegle in trouble." Afterward, Naegle began ignoring A.C. to the point where she refused to sign a pass to the nurse's office.

On April 26, 2013, A.C.'s mother spoke to Principal Melvin Allen and told him about the conversations her daughter had with Naegle. Allen allegedly told the student's parents he planned on moving her out of Naegle's homeroom, but the switch never happened.

Another confrontation occurred a couple of weeks later on May 9. The suit says A.C. was walking to art class when Cindy Coleman, a teacher she did not know, greeted her in the hallway.

When A.C. greeted the teacher in return, Coleman asked, "Don't you want to know how I know who you are?" When the student asked how Coleman knew her, Coleman replied, "Don't worry about how I know you sweetie, I know everything about you."

Coleman then followed A.C. into her art class.

The family met with the district's bullying counselor, Penny Quenzel, five days later. At one point, Allen asked for a private word with A.C.'s mother. When she returned, she found A.C. crying and shaking. The lawsuit says that while the student's mother was out of the room, Quenzel began questioning A.C. about her family's relationship with the district's maintenance supervisor.

During the exchange, the student told Quenzel she wanted to leave the Deptford school district. Quenzel reportedly replied that A.C. could not leave the school because "it would make her father look bad and then he would have to resign from the school board." The suit also says Quenzel told the student "her dad thought it was a joke to take peoples' jobs away, and there there was a target on her father as a result of that and therefore a target on the plaintiff." At that point, the student and her mother went home. The girl's school work had begun to suffer, and she was extremely anxious about attending class.

Through the rest of the spring, the family claims, the harassment continued. Coleman continued to follow A.C. around, and on May 20, another teacher entered a classroom where A.C. was taking a test and stared at her for so long that a classmate pointed it out. On May 29, Coleman again sat behind A.C. in class for no reason. The family also says that when they took the matter up with the guidance department, administrators "did absolutely nothing."

The suit also says that administrators denied that there was any security camera footage of Coleman's interactions with A.C., and that "further investigation" turned up the video.

A few weeks later, a June 19 letter from the superintendent's office said an investigation of the complaints had come up "inconclusive." A.C. began the following school year at Gateway Regional High School, returning to Deptford after about a month. In November, however, a teacher named Barbara Sommers referred to the fact that Condo was a school board member. The comment was met with a remark from another student who said "her father was the reason why all the jobs were being cut in the school."

A.C. has been homeschooled since then. However, her lawsuit says she still faces harassment. The file states that before the district will allow A.C. to complete her diploma through Rowan College at Gloucester County, officials have asked her to sign a release saying she will not take legal action.

The plaintiffs request that the district begin anti-harassment training for students and employees, and that any students or staff involved be disciplined, in addition to punitive and compensatory damages.

Condo and his attorney, Kevin Costello, declined to comment on the matter. Deptford's Interim Superintendent Paul Spaventa also chose not to speak on the suit, and the district's solicitor, Robert Muccilli, did not return requests for comment.

Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.