Toms River Teachers Contract Agreement Up For Board Approval

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education is set to meet Wednesday night, and while it has reached agreements with two of its unions on pay raises, there is a glaring omission from the board agenda: superintendent.

The search for a new superintendent to replace David Healy, who retired Dec. 31, has been underway since October and included a series of phone-in hearings with the staff, parents and taxpayers about what they wanted to see in a news superintendent.

Overwhelmingly in those meetings, both staff and parents said they wanted to see someone from Toms River, who understood the district's traditions and the community, hired to do the job.

Interim Superintendent Thomas Gialanella's contract runs out June 30, as the board anticipated having a new superintendent chosen by then.

But the search erupted into a public controversy after the April 21 school board committee meetings where board member Kathy Eagan accused Toms River Councilman Dan Rodrick of trying to interfere in the process.

Eagan did not initially name Rodrick, but as the controversy spread from school board meetings to council meetings, Eagan said Rodrick had called her and told her to tell another board member that they "it would be in their best interest" to vote for a particular candidate.

Board member Ashley Palmiere then emailed the Toms River council to accuse Eagan of pressuring board members on who to vote for, sharing screenshots of text messages Eagan sent advocating for Toms River South Principal Mike Citta.

School board vice president Anna Polozzo, who is leading the search committee, said at the April 28 school board meeting that the list had been narrowed to two finalists — one from inside the district and one from outside the district — in mid-March.

Palmiere's screenshot showed Eagan's message was sent March 23, after the list was narrowed to two finalists. Eagan said Citta had told people he was out of the running for the position.

Rodrick has been accused of running the school board campaigns of Palmiere and Lisa Contessa, an accusation both he and they deny. Rodrick has admitted to running the school board campaign of current board member Kevin Kidney. In a November 2019, Rodrick left a voicemail message where he introduces himself and says he ran Kidney's campaign, and asks to speak with the recipient of the message. A copy of the message was provided to Patch by the person Rodrick called.

It is unclear what will happen if the board does not reach a resolution on a new superintendent by June 30. Repeated questions to the state Department of Education about the matter were deferred with the statement that it's a local issue.

The board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Toms River High School South. It can be viewed online here.

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