Asbury Park’s school superintendent created a hostile work environment for older employees and pressured them to retire before he was placed on administrative leave, according to two lawsuits filed by administrators.
The pair of lawsuits — filed by a former school security manager and a current administrator in Monmouth County last month — accuse Superintendent RaShawn M. Adams of giving preferential treatment to younger employees. They alleged Adams regularly scrutinized the work of older employees and reassigned their responsibilities to younger staff members.
Adams was placed on immediate administrative leave by the Asbury Park school district on Feb. 22. Officials have not commented on why Adams, who was appointed superintendent in the fall 2021, was placed on leave and it is unclear if it had any ties to the lawsuits.
Adams said he had “no comment” on the lawsuits and directed questions to the school board’s attorney.
Chanta Jackson, the district’s communications coordinator, also referred questions to school board attorney Adam Weiss, who said the board “will not comment on personnel matters and pending litigation.”
Mark Gerbino, a district administrator, has been serving as acting superintendent since Adams was placed on leave.
One of the lawsuits was filed by Louis Jordan, 69, a military veteran and retired law enforcement officer with over 25 years of experience. He was the school district’s security manager and school safety specialist for nearly 14 years.
Jordan’s attorney, David Krenkel, did not respond to a request to comment.
Jordan was terminated in October “because of his age and was replaced by a significantly younger male employee” with little experience, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 13 in Monmouth County Superior Court.
Jordan was called into the central office by Adams in May 2023 and told the position of security manager was going to be abolished the next month, the lawsuit alleges.
During the meeting, Adams said Jordan “was already retired and receiving a pension and that he was getting older not younger and could walk away,” the lawsuit alleges.
Either the state or the county stepped in to prohibit the abolishment of Jordan’s position and he remained on the job, the suit claims.
A few months later, Asbury Park’s security guards were not paid for a week of service, according to the lawsuit. Jordan “heard, falsely, that administrators were stating that he had ‘volunteered’ the security officers to work the last week of school for free,” the suit claims.
Jordan denied in a meeting with administrators in September that he said security guards would work for free, the lawsuit says. The next day, he was suspended with pay. He was notified of his termination Oct. 21, the suit states.
The second lawsuit was filed by Kristie Howard-Morris, who was placed on administrative suspension in January from her role as director of student services in retaliation for reporting Adams’ discriminatory actions, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 21.
Her attorney, Luretha M. Stribling, said she had no additional comment on the lawsuit.
Adams had a preference for employees younger than 40 and made “the work environment uncomfortable for the older employees by openly criticizing their work, scrutinizing their work and subjecting these employees to an environment which makes it uncomfortable for them,” Howard-Morris’ lawsuit alleges.
The superintendent also took job responsibilities away from older employees and gave them to staff members younger than 40, according to the lawsuit.
The superintendent allegedly gave Howard-Morris’ job responsibilities “to younger employees who lack the skill and acumen to perform the jobs” and tried to move her into the role of athletic director in April 2023, according to the lawsuit. She is older than 50, according to the lawsuit.
She declined the job. Adams tried to ask the school board to abolish her post as director of student services, but the board turned down the request, according to the lawsuit.
Howard-Morris alleges the criticism of her work continued. She received a letter of reprimand and was suspended in January for “lack of oversight and internal controls in the Department of Student Services,” the lawsuit states.
Both lawsuits allege Adams, the school board and the Asbury Park School District violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Stories by Jackie Roman
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.