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Middle school guidance counselor accused of insulting half-naked students

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has confirmed a Woodstock Middle School counselor is out of a job under suspicious circumstances.

Many concerned parents contacted our station wanting to know why Dede Manzella hadn't been fired.

Parents told Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez that on Aug. 21, Manzella allegedly walked into a locker room full of sixth grade students and asked the girls to, "Raise your hand if you're an b*tch."

“I don’t think anything that can be said can justify it," said parent Zoe Herbst.

Parents told Jaquez school officials did launch an investigation but added it wasn’t until the next week that their daughters were interviewed by school police about the alleged incident.

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On Thursday, they reached out to Jaquez when they couldn’t get any answers.

We contacted the school district for comment.

By Friday, they got back to us and said they couldn’t make any specific comments about employee disciplinary action.

But they released this statement saying:

A complaint was made about a Woodstock Middle School counselor's comments to students and was investigated. There will be no criminal charges. The counselor will not be returning to the school; efforts are underway to hire a replacement.