Indicted Rabbi Takes Leave Of Absence As Director Of Lakewood Special Needs School

LAKEWOOD, NJ — The founder and director of a private school for special needs children in Lakewood who is under indictment on charges of stealing more than $630,000 in public funds has taken a leave of absence from the school.

In a news release, the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence in Lakewood announced that Rabbi Osher Eisemann "will be taking a voluntary leave of absence with new members to be added to its Board of Directors to assist in the transition." The school's principal, James Delaney, has been named interim director, the school said.

Eisemann was indicted in March on charges he diverts money from the school's accounts to personal ventures, including to finance a clothing business that later failed, according to state Attorney General Christopher Porrino.

The school receives approximately $1.8 million per month in tuition from the Lakewood School District and other public school districts that send special needs students to the school, the release said. "The tuition rate is set using a state formula that is based on the 'reasonable, ordinary and necessary' costs to educate the students, and all tuition funds must be used strictly for operating expenses of the school," state officials said.

Eisemann, 60, was indicted along with the purported fundraising foundation for the school, Services for Hidden Intelligence LLC, on second-degree charges of theft by unlawful taking, misapplication of entrusted property and property of government, and money laundering, Porrino's office said.

Eisemann pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday and his attorney, Lee Vartan, has filed a motion to suppress evidence collected during raids in June 2016, according to a report by the Asbury Park Press. A hearing on that motion was scheduled for Sept. 29 by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Bucca.

READ MORE: Lakewood Special Needs School Founder Indicted, Stole $630K In Public Funds: AG

“It is with sincere regret that I voluntarily will take a leave of absence from the institution to which I have devoted my life to for over 22 years," Eisemann said in the news release. "We take great pride in the fact that SCHI’s annual audits, conducted by New Jersey Department of Education-approved independent auditors, have always resulted in certifications of completeness. Regrettably, baseless allegations made against me have resulted in this decision.”

“Even though Director Eisemann has not been accused by the state attorney general of appropriating SCHI funds for personal use, Director Eisemann has once again put the interests of our students first so that the school may move on from these scurrilous allegations," Delany said.

The school's board of directors said that "Since its founding in 1995, The School for Children with Hidden Intelligence (SCHI) has grown to become a world-renowned, cutting-edge therapeutic and educational center meeting the unique needs of hundreds of severely-disabled, medically fragile, and socially-emotionally challenged children and young adults ranging in age from birth to 21+."

SCHI provides educational and therapeutic services by certified professional staff to children with disabilities as varied as autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, muscular dystrophy, Spina bifida, and cerebral palsy, among others. SCHI places great emphasis on maintaining a high teacher to pupil ratio (minimum of 1:2) along with individualized educational programs, designed to fit each student’s specific needs.

In addition to the charges against Eisemann, the school has been under fire for the makeup of its student body, which is predominantly white, according to Asbury Park Press reports on the school. Lakewood school district officials have said the students are primarily Orthodox Jewish students, referred there by the Lakewood School District, which has a much more broad ethnic and racial diversity.

The Press also has reported SCHI overcharged Lakewood and other school districts by more than $340,000 in one year, according to a state audit of the 2011-12 school year. SCHI is appealing the findings. Audits in 2002 and 2012 found that the school did not conduct background checks on employees, as required by state law, and often uses public money to pay teachers in positions for which they aren't qualified.

Rabbi Osher Eisemann, via New Jersey State Attorney General's Office