Why is Asbury Park school board keeping secrets about suspended superintendent?

ASBURY PARK - More than a week after Asbury Park Schools Superintendent RaShawn M. Adams was placed on administrative leave by the Board of Education, the future of the district's leadership remains unclear.

"Since Dr. Adams’ employment status is a personnel matter, the district will not offer any comments at this time," acting interim superintendent Mark Gerbino said.

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

As of now, it is unclear whether Adams will return to the superintendent position or if the district will move forward with Gerbino or someone else in that role.

Board President Kenneth E. Saunders, Jr., Board Vice President Joe Grillo, Wendi Glassman, Shadab Maghsood and Michael Penna voted to place Adams on paid leave. Barbara Lesinski and Anthony Remy voted no. Tracy Rogers and Jessiemae Ricks recused themselves.

Prior to his vote, Remy said he felt there has been a bias against Adams "from day one."

"(Adams) never got a chance to really do what he needed to do. I know certain things happen, but he never got a chance to be student-focused, children-centric. He has always been on defense mode from day one," Remy said.

He warned that if the district doesn't right itself, the schools could be absorbed into a larger school district.

"I feel we are going to waste time and money from our district to make this happen. I feel a lot of people in here are making votes off who they've got in their pocket, who they're friends with. I don't care what you all say," Remy said. "We keep moving forward the way we are right now, this is about to be Ocean Regional (or) Neptune Regional. That is where our children are about to go."

He added that the meeting might be his last before warning the board members to "stop playing into these politics."

Ricks said she disagreed with the process before her vote and recused herself.

"There were a few board members that knew what was going down and a couple of us left out of the process," Ricks said. "My whole concern is about the kids. This is not about the kids. This is about who is friends with who and who benefits from who."

She added, "I (have) never seen the district this low."

"When these people are in this backroom making this backroom deals, these little Black and Brown kids are not mentioned, so I object to the process put forth tonight and decided even before tonight," Ricks said.

Ricks told the Asbury Park Press that speaking for herself, she was "personally perplexed as to why the actions were taken, and the process in which the decisions was made."

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The union chief, John Napolitani, told the Asbury Park Press that there is no plan for Adams to come back in the short term.

"(The) board seems pretty pleased with their decision. Lots of planning and lots of cleaning up," Napolitani said.

Adams, who earned a doctorate of education in educational leadership, has worked in the district since 2015, but took the helm as superintendent in mid-2021. He was the fifth person to hold the position in the last decade and said he promoted "a system of accountability" after telling the district "I don't cut deals."

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In August 2023, Adams told the Asbury Park Press that he had to "clean up a lot" in his first two years as head of the district, and that he was done waiting.

Adams held a press conference in December and claimed internal critics and political figures in Trenton are working against the best interests of the district, blasting the local teachers' union leader for what he said was the union's role in removing a fiscal monitor assigned by the state.

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.

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 school board won't say what will happen to superintendent