The mayor of the municipality of Baia Mare calls for the resignation of the deputy principal of “Lucian Blaga” School, following Cătălin Cherecheș’s visit among the students

Baia Mare Mayor Doru Dăncuș is calling for the resignation of Maria Chira, deputy principal of “Lucian Blaga” School, after former mayor Cătălin Cherecheș was allegedly welcomed at the school and photographed alongside students. Dăncuș claims that the visit, as well as a teacher’s public message about the former mayor’s merits, contributed to creating a favorable image of him.

In a post published Sunday evening, the mayor said that students must not be involved in an “image-building exercise” for an adult definitively convicted of bribery. He criticized the school’s management for allegedly failing to sufficiently assess the risks associated with the invitation and requested statements from the school and the Maramureș County School Inspectorate.

Cătălin Cherecheș was definitively sentenced in November 2023 to five years in prison for bribery, after prosecutors alleged that he had received money in connection with funding the city’s football club. He fled Romania before the verdict was handed down, using a relative’s identity document, and was later apprehended in Germany and brought back to the country in March 2024.

The former mayor was released on parole in July and remains under supervision until March 2028. He is also on trial in a case concerning the illegal crossing of the border and falsification of identity. The dispute concerning the school visit is to be clarified through statements from the school’s management and the inspectorate.