'He turned it around.' Former Freehold Borough school Superintendent Rocco Tomazic dies

Olivia Liu and Joe Strupp, Asbury Park Press
Updated ·3 min read

FREEHOLD BOROUGH — Former Freehold Borough School District Superintendent Rocco Tomazic, 72, died Saturday evening after serving 28 years in education, according to Board of Education president Joe Santonacita.

A champion who fought for state funding, Tomazic also leaves a legacy for the generous scholarships awarded to students who have attended Freehold borough schools.

"Dr. Tomazic was an amazing person and an extraordinary instructional leader," Freehold Borough's Superintendent Asia Michael wrote in an email. "In the short time that I knew him, his passion for children, education, and his family was evident. Dr. Tomazic will be forever remembered by the staff, students, and parents of the Freehold Borough School District."

State Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, remembered meeting Tomazic over a decade ago.

“Freehold Borough’s overcrowding was untenable – cardboard boxes separated classrooms and they had no library,” wrote Gopal in a Facebook post. “Due to Rocco’s leadership — he turned it around and fought to get the district the funding that it needed and deserved.”

Dr. Rocco Tomazic, Freehold Borough Superintendent of Schools, who will be retiring this year, stands inside the library of the Freehold Intermediate School in Freehold, NJ Tuesday, June 15, 2021.
Dr. Rocco Tomazic, Freehold Borough Superintendent of Schools, who will be retiring this year, stands inside the library of the Freehold Intermediate School in Freehold, NJ Tuesday, June 15, 2021.

Tomazic stepped down as superintendent in 2021 after serving for eight years. During his tenure, the district sued the state and won an additional $32 million in school aid. With the funds, the district added 11 classrooms, an extra cafeteria and a new gym among other improvements.

Instead of being 560 students over capacity, the school district ended up being over capacity by 70 students. The school district had an enrollment of 1,658 students in the 2021-2022 school year.

"Dr. Tomazic was a champion of education and equity," Dr. Joseph Howe, Freehold Borough superintendent who took over in 2021, wrote in an email. "His tireless efforts have impacted tens of thousands of students and their families throughout the state."

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Santonacita stated Tomazic fought for Freehold Borough schools and "fought and succeeded in rebalancing the school funding formula in New Jersey, urging the legislature to pass S2, bringing underfunded school districts across the state up to full funding."

Tomazic graduated from Bowling Green University in 1974 with a degree in speech. After joining the U.S. Navy, he found himself in Japan and Italy. His first teaching job was at a NATO base in Naples, Italy, through a University of Maryland program.

Tomazic retired from the Navy in 1996 as a Commander and taught the Navy Junior ROTC at Linden High School. After 17 years, he became superintendent of Linden Public Schools before coming to the Freehold Borough School District in 2013. After leaving the Freehold Borough School District, he returned as Linden's interim superintendent and served as Monmouth Beach’s interim superintendent.

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In 2023, Tomazic returned to the Freehold Borough School District as its interim superintendent after Howe resigned to become senior director of finance and administration at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Tomazic served in that role for five months before handing over the reins to the current superintendent Asia Michael on Dec. 11, 2023.

Tomazic, in conjunction with Richard and Linda Berthy of the Foreside Foundation, set up the Tomazic Family Scholarship. It awards two graduating seniors up to $80,000 in scholarship funds. It also gives two eighth-grade students up to $2,500 per year to support their high school education.

The scholarship, which was established in 2022, will run for 10 years, according to a Freehold High School press release.

"He was always thorough and thoughtful in his actions and words," Santonacita wrote. "He cared deeply about the students of the district and did everything in his power to get the resources needed to provide them with a thorough and efficient education."

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Freehold Borough school funding champion Rocco Tomazic dies Saturday