The author of this article describes himself as an “Asbury Park community member hoping to improve the district.” He wishes to remain anonymous. The views are his own.

Here’s the latest:

Students in grades K-5  are not receiving their Chromebooks back after the summer because the district is giving Chromebooks to high school and middle school  students first. There is also a hold on a purchase order for new Chromebooks. In other words, we don’t have the money for educational needs for our students but we can give people new titles and positions. Maybe the money you spent on advertising for Pre-K would have been better spent making sure students had adequate technology. Just saying!

So now the Pre-K to 5th grade does not have their own computers back or enough for every student.  Here’s my question: What happened to the Chromebooks that each student was given during Covid? Where did all the Chromebooks go from the mass exodus of students since then? There should be plenty of Chromebooks available based on the number that were given out in 2020 til now 2023.

In an email to staff, [EdTech Innovation Coach] Keri Hennessy said that students in grades 1-5 will be given enough for small group work but students will not get back the Chromebooks they turned in at the end of last school year.  Her  “goal”  is to have a laptop for each student.  That makes me laugh. 

LaShawn Gibson [who was on last night’s agenda to be promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources from Director—NJER has learned this promotion was pulled at the last minute] has already tried and applied for a similar job in Princeton. She probably didn’t get it because of either the title or lack of experience.  And just because she has the title doesn’t mean she can do the job. Prime example, Asbury Park Superintendent Rashawn Adams. 

Adams did the same backdoor shit for [Athletic Director Troy] Bowers that [former Asbury Park superintendent Lamont] Repollet did in order to keep him in the school district. When Adams was the principal at the middle school, the staff overwhelmingly cast a  vote of no confidence against him. The outcome was Repollet did not fire him or let him go but  placed him in the Central Office by creating a position called “Director of Planning, Research, and Assessment”  that would give him tenure! There has to be a reason why his other previous districts got rid of him before he had a chance for tenure!!! [See here for Adams’ previous employment history.]

He keeps saying that he is not his predecessors but he does the same things they do, like hire friends of board members —High School principal Bridgett O’Neil is either friendly with or related to board member Barbara Lesinski,  piss away district money, inflate Central Office staff, and screw over students, staff and the community!!!! 

That’s how you get administrators tenured in The Asbury Park School District!!!

All of a sudden, after weeks of school, the Middle School is changing the schedules of students and teachers.  I was told that staff from the Central Office has been in that school walking in and out of classes and asking  teachers how many students they have. Schedule changes will start Monday, with the school moving to 8 periods instead of the original 10. Lunch used to be a fifty-minute block but now sixth and half of the seventh grade will have lunch for 25 minutes and then the rest of the seventh and eighth graders will have lunch for the next 25 minutes. Is 25 minutes enough to feed half the school? You can’t feed 150 kids in 25 minutes!!! I’m told this was not the decision of principal Perry Medina but Adams’ call.

Also, there has been no heat in the middle school yesterday and today.

Why does the Board of Education do nothing about it? NOTHING! You would think that they would start to try and change things or vote against Adams’ recommendations since some of their seats are up [for re-election in November]!! There are plenty of people who are running and will do a better job and be more vocal.  If the Board will not stand up for these kids and call out those in charge instead of the teachers and staff, then things will not change.