Asbury Park teachers happy superintendent is gone, but taxpayers still owe him over $400K

ASBURY PARK - Teachers in the district told the Board of Education they feel optimistic about the future and are ready to move forward after Asbury Park Schools Superintendent RaShawn M. Adams was placed on paid administrative leave by the Board of Education.

Adams has had a contentious relationship with the teachers' union since taking charge two years ago, and it finally boiled over at the Feb. 22 meeting when the board voted 5-2 to place Adams on paid administrative leave.

The district is still on the hook to pay Adams more than $400,000 for his contract, which doesn't run out until the middle of 2026, and the school board has yet to say what the long-term plans for district leadership are.

You can see a full copy of Adams' employment contract at the end of this story.

The last meeting in February was tense and emotional, which left many in the community saying the children were being treated as an afterthought. However, the March 14 meeting featured more optimism.

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"This is one of the most positive meetings that I have ever been in, and I have been on the board for 10 years," Board President Kenneth E. Saunders Jr. said.

He said the board looked at three factors in putting Adams on leave — the administration, the teachers and the larger community.

"We still have a lot of hard work to do and it isn't going to be easy, to be quite frank with you. I have been in leadership for over 20 years and I wouldn't want to be in (acting interim superintendent Mark Gerbino's) seat right now. We hear you as a community," Saunders said.

Saunders thanked Gerbino "for stepping up and doing his job," then Saunders stood up and shook hands with the acting interim superintendent.

"It has just been a revolving door for the (superintendent)," Saunders said referring to the fact that Asbury Park has had five superintendents in the past 15 years. "Thank you Mr. Gerbino. I can see that the morale has gone up tremendously and I appreciate you."

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Board member Anthony Remy apologized for the comments he made at the previous meeting, when he opposed Adams' removal and said people were casting votes "off who they've got in their pocket, who they're friends with."

"I just want us to move forward and do what is right and do what we all came here to do, and that is provide opportunities for the children in this district," Remy said Thursday night.

The median teacher salary in the Asbury Park school district for the 2022-2023 school year was $93,885, the second-highest in Monmouth County behind Freehold Regional High School District and the 38th-highest in the state. However, the student test scores in 2021-2022 ranked the school district dead last, 436th out of 436 in language arts and 425th out of 425 in mathematics.

Asbury Park High School teacher Jessica Daniels thanked the board "from the very bottom" of her heart during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"It has been a long, arduous last few years, one where teachers' voices have not only been stifled but blatantly ignored at all levels here in Asbury Park," she said. "I am beyond elated for a future where a staff have given their entire adult lives to the kids of Asbury Park can now be a part of improving this district one voice at a time."

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She acknowledged that "there are teachers in Asbury Park that need to show improvement," but also added there has been a lack of input sought from the teachers in the classrooms.

"I have rarely, if ever, been asked my opinion on critical educational decisions," she said. "I have not been included in conversation that would impact the teaching and learning of the very kids that I have loved and taught for 20 years."

Instead, teachers have been "vilified, blamed, clumped together and scapegoated" according to the Daniels.

"This is not only unfair, but it is counterproductive to creating a school district focused on children, learning and improvement when those in the trenches have no voice, especially those in the trenches in the who are actually succeeding," she said.

Daniels pointed out that a few weeks ago when Asbury senior Iquann Crawford won his regional wrestling matches at Jackson Liberty High School on a cold rainy Saturday, he had two fans in the stands. Both were unpaid and there voluntarily; herself and the acting interim superintendent.

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Resident Nina Summerlin said "I am glad (the teachers) are comfortable in being able to come to the school district and do their jobs."

"Now that you have taken care of our staff I need you to take our children more seriously, because at the end of the day if it wasn't for our children, none of these people would be here," Summerlin said. "Let's start focusing on our children and stop focusing on politics, personal issues, personal gains or whatever."

Adams employment contract by Dennis Carmody on Scribd

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park still owes ousted schools superintendent more than $400K