It is hard to keep up with the torrent of news that flows out of one of New Jersey’s most troubled districts. Here are the current happenings:

Last month the newly-formulated Asbury Park Board of Education voted to put Superintendent Rashawn Adams on administrative leave, as we reported here. However, his contract with the district, at a current salary of $195,413 (plus benefits including 25 vacation days, 15 sick days, 5 personal days, regular holidays, etc.) doesn’t run out until 2026, which puts the district on the hook for over $400,000, or two years salary plus benefits. Long-time Asbury Park administrator Mark Gerbino has been appointed interim superintendent. Gerbino is the sixth superintendent Asbury has had during the last ten years.

Two weeks ago NJER reported Director of Student Services Kristie Howard-Morris had filed a tort claim—a precursor to a lawsuit— against Adams and the Asbury Park School Board, charging “discrimination, harassment, and a hostile work environment, based on the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.” In particular, Howard says Adams discriminates against employees who are over 40 years old by subjecting them to retaliatory actions and assigning their duties to younger staff members. Adams also tried to make her Athletic Director, for which she has no background.

Now a second lawsuit has been filed by district Security Manager Louis Jordan, who says he was fired “because of his age and was replaced by a significantly younger male employee” with little experience. He said Adams had told him “he wasn’t getting any younger” last May and should “walk away” but either the county or the state nullified his dismissal. He was put on administrative leave last September and terminated in October.

It is unclear if these lawsuits are connected to the Board’s decision to at least temporarily depose Adams.

Finally, Asbury Park has a serious budget crunch. Last year, out of the district’s total operating budget of $59.2 million, its state aid was $20.7 million. (According to the state database, the cost per pupil in Asbury Park is $30,949.) However this year, state aid will drop to $16.5 million, a loss of over 20 percent or more than four million dollars. This is a huge difference for what was once an greatly over-aided district.

The fiscal analyst at NJ Education Aid says the drop in aid to the district “has been so large because its enrollment has continued to plummet.” The 2024-25 numbers, he says, are exactly what the state’s school funding formula allows.

Currently districtwide proficiency levels in Asbury Park rank 436th out of 436 in language arts and 425th out of 425 in mathematics. Only 3.8% of Asbury Park third-graders can read at grade level, a drop of six points from last year. Third-grade reading proficiency is considered a benchmark for future academic success.