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

Ed. Note: Tonight the Asbury Park Board of Education will have its monthly public meeting. This submission from the Asbury Park Insider focuses on the meeting agenda, as well as political machinations over the widely-rumored dismissal of Superintendent Rashawn Adams.

Let’s see if the Asbury Park BOE and the new State Monitor, Mr. Ronald Fisher, sign off on [Superintendent] Adams’s plans for our district, which has nothing to do with our kids—only 4% of third-graders can read, by the way—and everything to do with his besties.

• Revision of Job Title and Description for LaShawn Gibson, from Director of Human Resources to “Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Daily Operations.”

The school board voted this down before but Gibson still got the pay increase of around $16,000!!!

If the board approves this item then this could make LaShawn Gibson the Interim Superintendent [when Adams leaves].  That would be a HUGE mistake since she belittles and threatens administrators and staff and believes that she is untouchable because Adams hired her and is her friend!

• New Job Description: “Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, that the Board approves the new job descriptions for the job creation approved on March 23, 2023 listed below.”

a. 1501     High School Principal 

b. 1612.   Director of Special Services 

c. 1620.    Director of Curriculum and Instruction

d. 5033.   Confidential Data and Communications Systems Manager 

What’s going on?

High School Principal Bridget O’Neill was hired by Adams and is a friend of BOE member Barbara Lesinski!

Special Services Director Bonnie Lau was hired by Adams!

Curriculum Director Edwin Ruiz was hired by [former AP superintendent Lamont] Repollet!

Data Manager Paul Savoia was hired by Adams. 

The only reason to revise job descriptions is if you are going to add money to the position. But Asbury Park Schools District HAS NO MONEY so we shouldn’t be changing job titles!!!! All these changes just make the top heavier and waste money that should be used to teach these students basic skills!!! Stop lining your pockets or promote yourself! JUST GET OUT!!!! We don’t need you, your bloated job titles, or your increased salaries!!! We need to focus on our kids and the staff!

Some teachers can’t do that either. Two teachers from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School are forcing teachers to sign a petition to promote principal Lauren Schulze. Instead of teaching English Language Learners like they’re supposed to, these teachers are walking around the building and, from what teachers have said, “they stand there and guilt you [into signing].” One teacher told me, “they have not seen kids and are all over the building.” I guess if you support the principal you don’t have to go get your elementary students and teach them! Sounds a lot like Schultze used to do when she was a teacher at Marshall. These are the same idiots that bought into [former superintendents] Sancha Gray, Repollet, and the rest of the cast of characters in Central Office. 

Also, there’s a rumor campaign to make [Administrator/former Athletic Director Mark] Gerbino look bad. One teacher stated that the Gerbino rumor was started by Schultze and [principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Perry] Medina. One teacher said, “Everybody in the district knows that Adams destroyed Gerbino’s reputation so badly that he doesn’t even have a shot at the [superintendent] position so why even start that rumor?

Now let’s look at what was approved at the last meeting.

• On the district website but not on the copy of the agenda given out at last month’s actual meeting is the resignation of Athletic Director Troy Bowers. He is still at the high school but tonight he’s on the Irvington Board of Education agenda to be their new Interim Athletic Director.

When was his resignation approved by the Asbury Park school board? Doesn’t he need to give 60 days notice? Has the superintendent waived this? 

• Pay increases to the Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds (Walter Sosa) and the Assistant Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds (Tron Goldfarb). But there is not enough money for the students within the district to go on field trips or for the senior class to do their senior activities!! 

• Walter Sosa, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds salary will be moved from $133,950 to $148,950 to handle the Security Manager responsibilities effective December 20, 2023 through June 30, 2024
• Tron Goldfarb, Assistant Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds salary will be moved from $106,043 to $111,043 to handle additional responsibilities effective December 20, 2023 through June 30, 2024

That’s $20,000 to do two jobs at the same time. That’s a joke, right? But we don’t have money!!! It has been approved by the BOE and the State Monitor so nothing will change! They can’t get tissues for the nurses office but we have an extra $20,000? 

 And isn’t that double-dipping, working two jobs during the same workday? Why is this okay? 

If you add LaShawn Gibson’s $16,000 increase,  then the total rises to $36,000 to pay Central Office staff, money that could have been used to hire teachers that this district so badly needs!!!

How can the new state monitor approve this money while our kids can’t read?

Hey, morons! You only have four schools in this district but taxpayers shell out $250,000 a year to rent space for the Central Office even though we have empty buildings!

•  Bridget O’Neill, Principal/HS, will be assigned to oversee the Athletics/PE/Health department in addition to her current duties as Principal/HS effective February 6, 2024 through June 30, 2024.

For the last two years O’Neill has been responsible for students being ineligible to participate in athletics. This year she had a soccer player and a football player who were both ineligible. And yet the ineligible student who played football participated in several games.  

• The Academic Bridge/45 Day Program, and Mark Gerbino will be transferred to the High School.

Why? Just put him back at Athletic Director!

I feel sorry for those teachers who have to teach in this madness. As Richard A Rowland once said, “the lunatics have taken over the asylum”