Suspended Secaucus High Principal Sues District For $5 Million

SECAUCUS, NJ — The principal of Secaucus High School, who has been placed on a paid leave since April over his handling of a student matter, now intends to file a $5 million lawsuit against the Secaucus school district.

Dr. Robert Berckes, known in town as "Dr. Bob," said the superintendent's handling of the matter, and a decision she and the Secaucus Board of Education made to place him on leave has caused him emotional distress, embarrassment and damage to the chiropractic business he runs out of his home on Flanagan Way. He is seeking $5 million in damages.

NJ.com first reported the news, as they obtained the notice that Berckes intended to file the lawsuit through an open public records request.

The initial incident occurred back in April: A student at Secaucus High School was caught with a small folding knife. Berckes said he was notified by Assistant Principal Jeffrey Case that a small amount of marijuana had also been found in the student's shoe.

Berckes said he and Case showed Secaucus schools superintendent Jennifer Montesano the bag and she asked what they planned to do with the drug. Berckes said he told Montesano he would give it to the Secaucus High school resource officer, who said it should be flushed down the toilet.

Berckes said he and the officer did that, and at the time Montesano had no objection.

Within the next few days, however, she suspended both Berckes and Case for that decision, and they have remained suspended ever since. The vice principal, Case, has since quit the Secaucus school district.

A lawsuit filed by Berckes has long been expected. At a meeting last month, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli warned the Board of Ed. to resolve the matter to avoid a potential lawsuit. Berckes and his daughter Kristyl angrily spoke before the Secaucus Board of Education on May 10 (watch below), saying that he had been humiliated, had his reputation dragged through the mud and that Montesano's decision to suspend him was mostly political.

Louis Giele told NJ.com that Berckes is "completely within his rights" to file a lawsuit. He also called the suspensions "unnecessary" and said the entire handling of the matter has ruined Case's and Berckes' careers, and tarnished the Secaucus school district's reputation.

"It's troubling to me that this state of affairs has escalated to such a point," fellow board member Sharon Dellaface told NJ.com. "As high school principal, Dr. Berckes has consistently made our students his first priority. Under his leadership, our high school has flourished by achieving landmark strides in several areas of education."

The police officer has been assigned away from the high school and was reprimanded by the department for the decision to flush the marijuana, Patch has been told.

Montesano and all nine members of the school board were named in the lawsuit.

Some people in Secaucus feel so strongly in support of Dr. Bob — and are so upset the incident has escalated this way — that they launched a Change.org petition demanding he be reinstated: https://www.change.org/p/secau...

Photo of Dr. Berckes via the Secaucus school district website.