Thursday night the Asbury Park Board of Education held its reorganization meeting, swearing in newly-elected member Wendi Glassman and incumbent Joe Grillo, who ran on a slate called “Support Asbury’s Children.” Anthony Remy, the third member of the slate—they swept the election—will be sworn in later this month.

“This is a new day for Asbury Park Schools, and I’m committed to the hard work ahead. We heard from scores of parents and residents during the campaign loud and clear. They want substantive and positive change,” Grillo said, adding, “We will change the culture, the narrative and the direction of our district so that our kids graduate with the tools for success in college, career and life.”

Glassman said,

“I have feelings of joy and hope about beginning the work with the other members who share this drive to bring dramatic, positive change while, at the same time, recognizing the enormity of the responsibility of serving the children and my community.”

The slate’s successful campaign follows a letter from the Asbury Park Principals and Administrators Association (APPA) to school board members which “humbly and fervently” requested “intervention to prevent further damage” to the district which, they said, is at a “crisis point.” The Asbury Park Education Association voted no-confidence in superintendent Rashawn Adams last spring; also, students and parents have assailed district leadership for ignoring student needs.

While New Jersey students showed small gains in proficiency in 2023 compared to 2022 (except for third-grade reading and seventh-grade math), Asbury Park students’ achievement levels largely declined. Currently, 3.8% of Asbury Park third-graders can read at grade level; last year it was 9.5%. Only 1% of Asbury’s sixth-graders are proficient in math, compared to last year’s 3%.

When it came time to elect officers for the district school board, Kenneth Saunders was elected president. Two member were nominated for vice-president: Barbara Lesinski, long-time defender of Adams, and Joe Grillo, who has called for “substantive and positive change.”

The winner was Grillo.

The APPA letter includes items like this:

“This culture of fear and intimidation, seemingly with impunity, has left employees, especially middle  management, afraid of reprisals. We are constantly being demeaned and disrespected; in one particularly  troubling incident, after Dr. Adams conducted a walkthrough, he referred to a female teacher as a heifer.  The constant fear of a misstep that runs afoul of district leadership’s unreasonable demands has  paralyzed us, rendering us unsure of how to handle even the most basic processes and events as well as  egregious behavior like the example cited above. Official policies, training and protocols hold little  meaning when we are subjected to the ever-changing whims of district leadership. The specter of  intimidation and bullying looms large, preventing open dialogue and fostering a growing dread and  climate of instability.”