Father of teen who died by suicide says he was bullied and Monroe school leaders 'did nothing'

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The father of 13-year-old Gary Ross is angry and heartbroken after his son died of suicide.

"Somebody is going pay for this, I'm going to tell you that right now, you guys didn't do (anything) to protect him," said Ron Ross. "(The school) never did anything about it and now my son is dead."

Ron Ross was surrounded by family, friends, and community members as they confronted leaders at Monroe Public Schools in the pouring rain Friday.

"Now I have to bury my son, my 13-year-old son because they wouldn’t do anything about the bullying," Ross said.

The family says the bullying came in a number of ways - even from text messages.

"There was a text message right before he killed himself Monday there was a text message that he better not bring himself to school or else they were going to beat the crap out of him," said his father.

Supporters of the Ross family also claiming allegations of bullying.

"My heart is breaking for Gary's family," said one woman who joined in the protest. "

Ron Ross and his late son, Gary

School officials, including the superintendent, met the group outside reacting to the bullying claims.

"No we did not believe it was that big," said Andrew Shaw, the superintendent of Monroe Public Schools

The superintendent promised to do more.

"We need our kids' help to understand how they want to be able to communicate to us when a bullying situation is happening, so we can step in and assist them."

School leaders are also offering a plan of action.

"Beginning next week we’re going to be meeting with our kids and staff to really figure out what those next steps might be," Shaw said.

As for the students who allegedly bullied Gary, there is an investigation underway.

"We’re still waiting for the police to continue their investigation and as they do their work we will step alongside of them," he said.

But Gary’s father is not convinced.

"Nothing is going to change," he said.

"Listening to our parents talk it’s been helpful, hearing them" Shaw said. "My big part from them is that we’re all in this together."

Ron Ross confronts Monroe Schools Superintendent Andrew Shaw. Inset: Ron's late son Gary.