A bitter feud between the Mayor of Toms River and the school superintendent escalates, involving accusations, personal insults, and threats of lawsuits, threatening to disrupt governance in the sixth-largest school system in New Jersey. The mayor is demanding the superintendent's resignation over a proposed pay raise, while the school board rebukes the mayor for overstepping his authority.
Nasty feud between Jersey Shore mayor and schools chief is dividing this town. ‘You, sir, are a disgrace.’ Toms River Schools Superintendent Michael Citta speaks at a board meeting earlier this year.publicly called for the resignation of the district superintendent this week, escalating a long-smoldering and increasingly bizarre feud involving threats of lawsuits, personal insults, and even an accusation that one school board member was peeping into the home window of the schools chief.
Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s statement demanding that Superintendent Michael Citta resign — citing what he called Citta’s “indefensible” push for a hefty pay raise — prompted a defiant response from the schools chief. It also spurred an unusually sharp rebuke from the Board of Education, which accused the mayor of meddling in school matters beyond his authority. “Go get your own house in order,” Board President Ashley Lamb told Rodrick at a Wednesday board meeting, to applause. “If you’re going to come after Mike Citta, who is actually a man and a gentleman and an educational leader — all things you are not — you will have to come through me and the rest of this board," she said. The showdown threatens to upend governance in New Jersey’s sixth-largest school system, a district already embattled by years of financial and administrative strain. Rodrick was present at the meeting, according to Lamb. He did not speak, but his behavior at the meeting prompted her spontaneous reprimand. “He was clowning around in row two, putting on a show,” she told NJ Advance Media. “We have kindergarteners who behave better in meetings than this man was behaving.” Rodrick, for his part, characterized the meeting as “a complete stunt” by the board. He said he didn’t speak because of the presence of several dozen members of the teachers’ union, who he felt were applauding too often.Toms River Regional School District Board President Ashley Lamb criticizes Mayor Daniel Rodrick, sitting in the audience.Rodrick frames his opposition to Citta as a matter of personal freedom. “I have a constitutional right to not approve of your raise and to say so,” he said. “I don’t lose my First Amendment rights just because I’m mayor.” A request for comment to Citta was redirected to his lawyer, Patrick Toscano, who alleged in an emailed statement that Rodrick’s interference was the result of “personal animus” and an “insatiable thirst for power.”The mayor’s demand follows weeks of tension over a proposed contract extension that would see Citta’s salary rise at least $33,000 over the next five years, a hike Rodrick criticized as “outrageous” given what he described as financial woes and poor student performance within the district.to the community that Rodrick has repeatedly overstepped his authority. “I understand criticism. It comes with this role. It will not deter me,” he said. “What I will not accept is the distortion of facts or the injection of politics into our classrooms, our schools, or this Board of Education.”Citta’s hiringAfter the previous superintendent’s retirement, the Board of Education spent more than a year struggling to agree on a successor, with multiple failed votesAt least one board member, Kathy Eagan, alleged Rodrick — then a member of the township council —The stalemate prompted the board to start from scratch, eventually landing on Citta, whose appointment was approved in February 2022.Rodrick denied that he’d worked against Citta’s appointment while he was on the township council. A longtime educator, he has worked in his current position, as a assistant principal at Irvington High School in Essex County, since August.Under New Jersey law, school districts are separate legal entities from municipal governments, with independently elected boards that control hiring, contracts and budgets. Mayors and township councils have no formal authority over the vast majority of district operations. Ashley Lamb’s husband, Justin Lamb, who is also the township’s outgoing council president, emphasized in an interview that Rodrick did not speak for him or the rest of the council. “School boards should be free to do and carry on their affairs without interference from the council or the mayor,” he added.School officials in Toms River have spent years grappling with shrinking aid and repeated intervention from the state.starting in 2018, the district has lost roughly $175 million in aid, prompting the layoffs of 250 staff members, program cuts and the sale of district property to close budget gaps. In July, the board attempted to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy to avoid what Citta called “the end of Toms River regional schools.” The state, forcing the district to impose a 12.9% property tax increase on residents instead. Two or the younger Toms River students present for a Statehouse rally in Trenton on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, protesting state aid cuts to the district.The current flare-up stretches back to October, when the Board of Education began discussing a new five-year contract for Citta. Its terms included an increase in his $219,300 salary for the 2024-2025 school year to $275,000, retroactive to July 1.to $308,012 by the 2029-2030 school year. Citta defended the contract in his Tuesday statement, saying that it was “a market place adjustment” for a district of Toms River’s size. He also pointed out that he’d opted to freeze his salary for the last four years in response to the district’s financial woes. The first salary bump in his proposed contract would make him the 32nd highest-paid superintendent in New Jersey, he said.400-word statement in which he called his proposed salary an “indefensible” attempt to “fleece the taxpayers.”report on Monday detailing a legal threat he’d received from Toscano, the lawyer representing Citta and the school board. “I was going to ignore that stupid letter until the Asbury Park Press called me about it,” Rodrick said. That letter, dated Dec. 5, warned that Toscano’s firm had been retained over “certain improper, real and questionable political interference with BOE business,” as well as “curious law enforcement improprieties.” Details of the alleged “improprieties” were not specified in the letter, but both Rodrick and the Lambs said it referred to the same incident: an allegation involving someone peering through Citta’s windows. On Nov. 13, according to a police report obtained by NJ Advance Media, Toms River police responded to the superintendent’s home after he reported that someone had snuck onto his property and looked through his windows 10 days prior. Citta’s son and his friend had seen the alleged peeper, who scuttled off as soon as they realized they’d been spotted, according to the police report.Matarazzo is one of two board members, along with Paola Pascarella, who have ties to the township government. Matarazzo works for the Toms River building department, while Pascarella’s stepson is the assistant township attorney. Both women have also backed Rodrick in his clashes with the district in recent weeks, but the mayor said they were doing so of their own volition. “Marisa, she’s got guts. And Paola Pascarella has guts, you know?” Rodrick said. “But I don’t control them.” Matarazzo, who did not respond to a request for comment, denied Citta’s “incredible and defamatory” claim in a letter she and Pascarella sent to the State Ethics Commission on Nov. 25.The Dec. 5 letter to Rodrick, which was also addressed to Toms River Police Chief Guy Maire, stated that Toscano’s firm would be filing a notice of tort claim — the precursor to a lawsuit — and a litigation-hold demand, which is a formal instruction to preserve all potential evidence. The litigation-hold demand was issued Wednesday, according to Toscano. A notice of tort claim had yet to be filed as of Friday. “Two words — hard stop,” Toscano said in his statement to NJ Advance Media, adding that Citta had “grown tired” of Rodrick’s “bizarre political interference.” The board continued that line of attack in its Wednesday meeting, the last of the year, in which outstanding students receive awards.“It worked against the mayor,” he said. “I think showed he’s the better man in the room. He’s not afraid. He’s not going to cower down... I think the community is going to stick with .”Toms River Regional School Districtas she excoriated Rodrick, mocking him for thinking of himself “as some sort of dragon that needs slaying.” She alleged that Rodrick had called her last January, days after her election as board president, to tell her that if she wanted the position, she should have called him and “asked” him for it.I would have to call you and ask you for anything that has to do with this district,” she said, “because you don’t work here and you don’t run it and you don’t own it.” She made reference to Rodrick’s troubles with his previous employer, Middletown Township Public School district, which placed him on leave last December as it pursuedDistrict officials later said that an internal investigation had found Rodrick left students unattended to take personal calls and conducted Toms River business during school hours.against the Middletown school district last month.Lamb told Rodrick he was no more welcome in Toms River.Rodrick told NJ Advance Media that all of Lamb’s claims at the meeting were “completely false,” jabbing at the board as “dishonest, greedy people.”by the township in August. The organizers will need 25% of registered voters in Toms River — just over 18,400 people — to join the petition by Jan. 25 and force a special election.AJ McDougall is an enterprise reporter for NJ Advance Media, writing for both NJ.com and the Star-Ledger. She previously covered breaking news for the Daily Beast. Her writing can also be found in Vanity Fair,...
Feud Mayor Superintendent School Board Toms River
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jersey Shore mayor faces $600K lawsuit over debt on shuttered theme parkOcean City Mayor Jay Gillian faces a lawsuit over unpaid debt and consulting payments tied to Wonderland Pier.
Read more »
Kevin Garnett to Have Jersey Retired by Timberwolves, Take On Off-Court RoleKevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves have resolved their years-long feud, leading to Garnett's number 21 being retired and his involvement in an off-court role with the team. This follows a period of tension stemming from former owner Glen Taylor's actions, but Garnett has built a positive relationship with the new ownership, paving the way for his return.
Read more »
Girls swimming notebook, Dec. 18: Upset in South Jersey, N.J. stars at Junior NationalsHere are some key stories and notes from the last week of N.J. girls swimming meets.
Read more »
Iconic Jersey Shore tramcar rescued, to be restored for museumThe Wildwood Historical Society rescued a retired Sightseer tramcar and plans to restore it before moving it to the George F. Boyer Historical Museum.
Read more »
New Jersey man adopts dog left by previous homeownersBuying a home can come with unexpected surprises, as Aaron Gormley discovered when he found a new furry friend along with his new house.
Read more »
New Jersey Boys Swimming Heats Up: Top Teams Clash in Early Season ShowdownsEarly season meets showcase the strength of New Jersey boys swimming teams, with many top teams vying for position and setting the stage for a highly competitive season. Several matchups between top-ranked teams have resulted in significant shifts in the rankings, highlighting the intensity of competition. From dominant performances to record-breaking swims, the season is off to a roaring start.
Read more »