(NewsNation) — A best friend of Adriana Kuch described the 14-year-old New Jersey girl as a “beautiful soul” who was let down by a school district that has “failed us” by allegedly failing to act on bullying and harassment.

Hailie Engesser was at the Central Regional School District board meeting Thursday night, where students and parents told numerous stories of bullying that they say went unchecked.

Kuch was a victim of bullying and killed herself two days after a video showing her being attacked by a group of students was posted online. Her family says the administration failed to adequately address the incident and criticized a decision to suspend Kuch.

“The board has failed us. They didn’t show any emotion … I felt like I was in court basically,” Engesser said of Thursday night’s meeting. “It was unbearable, it was devastating and it was disgusting.”

Several others shared that sentiment.

“I’ve been bullied every single day since I’ve been at this school, since seventh grade,” student Milo Lugo said at the meeting.

Another student, Echo McNichols, was bullied so bad, “I couldn’t bring myself to school.”

Speaking about her own experiences and Kuch’s death, Engesser said Friday on NewsNation’s “CUOMO” that she feels “scared going to school” because of the environment.

When she heard of Kuch’s death, she didn’t believe it at first. So much so that she “started texting her because I thought it was a rumor or something, but it wasn’t.”

“I didn’t go to school that day, and I just cried my eyes out the whole day,” Engesser said.

Four students have been suspended and criminally charged in connection with the assault on Kuch. The video showed a group kicking and punching her next to a set of lockers in the high school hallway.

Former Superintendent Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides resigned last week, but not before he blamed Kuch’s suicide on her family, according to reporting by the New York Post.

During the Thursday board meeting, Acting Superintendent Dr. Douglas Corbett said the district is reviewing its bullying policies, but noted they are are largely determined by the state. 

“Those policies are dictated; they are very prescriptive by the state,” Corbett said. “However, we will review them, and if there’s any flexibility in any of that, we have to explore that. There’s no place in schools for bullying. We can all agree on that.”

Engesser is “not at all” optimistic about changes. She feels angry and “sickened” by what happened to Kuch, who she described as an “amazing person.”

“She was extremely independent, she was majestic, she had such a beautiful soul,” Engesser said. “She had a great future ahead of her.”