Toms River School Board Member Resigns: Report

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A member of the Toms River Regional Board of Education has decided to resign from his seat on the school board, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press reported Dan Leonard, who serves on the board as the representative from Beachwood, announced on Thursday that he is resigning effective Dec. 31.

Leonard, who was elected to a three-year term in November 2016, has been a vocal critic of the board and Superintendent David M. Healy, publicly questioning the superintendent on a number of issues.

He also had a feud — later settled — with board member Robert Onofrietti Jr. that included social media postings about Onofrietti's personal financial woes. The dispute between the two led to a mid-meeting outburst by Onofrietti in July, where Onofrietti accused Leonard of calling him "a little b---." The two later sat down and resolved their dispute, and Leonard publicly supported Onofrietti's campaign to be re-elected to the board.

Leonard's "Team Leonard" Facebook page also has since been removed.

Leonard, who has two years left on his term, told the Asbury Park Press he had multiple reasons for resigning his seat but did not detail them.

Under state law, a school board has 65 days to choose a replacement for a board member who resigns in mid-term. That person will serve through the end of 2018 and the final year of Leonard's term will be filled via election in November 2018.

On Tuesday at the school board meeting, Leonard gave no hint that he was planning to resign, telling members of the audience that they could contact him at any time to discuss concerns about the school district.

He also spoke out in support of Healy, addressing social media rumblings that the district was somehow better off under former Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco, who was convicted of taking bribes in an insurance scheme and is in the midst of serving an 11-year sentence in federal prison for that crime.

"Suggestions that things were better under Ritacco are ignoring a few things," Leonard said during the meeting. "The reason we're doing this ESIP program (a $17 million plan to address infrastructure issues through energy-saving renovations) is because money wasn't going into these schools, the money was going into his pocket or going into his house or whatever."

"We need to move things forward," Leonard said.

Read more of the Asbury Park Press report here. A request for comment from Leonard was not immediately answered.

Dan Leonard photo by Toms River Regional School District