There are many ways to suggest that someone is attractive, and many words used can be substituted later for "cute". The kid, according to the school, said she was "fine". Using the word "cute" in the article is simply a way to bend a story.
Still doesn't sound disrespectful? There are many ways he could have used the word "fine":
1: That's a fine bitch.
2: You a fine piece of ass.
3: Girl, you fine.
4: Yo, our teacher is fine!
5: She got a fine ass.
6: That's one fine body on our teacher.
Adding inflection and context changes the image entirely. Now, does it annoy me when people wimp out these days? Sure, but sometimes you really need to think about the situation.
The little snot probably had it coming.
Cheers,
Kennith