Toms River Superintendent David Healy Announces Retirement

TOMS RIVER, NJ — David M. Healy, hired in 2014 as the superintendent of the Toms River Regional School District, has announced he will be retiring effective Jan. 1.

"It has been my sincere pleasure and distinct honor to lead what I consider to be the finest school district within the most child-centered school community in the state of New Jersey," Healy said in a news release. "I have immense pride in what we’ve been able to accomplish, gratitude for the relationships and friendships that will last beyond my retirement, and confidence that Toms River Regional Schools is better positioned to confront the many challenges facing public school districts in New Jersey."

The Toms River Board of Education was notified of Healy’s decision Thursday morning, district officials said.

His retirement announcement comes as the 15,000-student district works to resume in-person instruction in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Toms River started the school year with fully remote instruction after more than 300 staff members sought accommodations for child care and medical issues.

On Wednesday, Healy announced the district would move to hybrid instruction for the youngest students (pre-K through first grade) plus language/learning disabled students as of Oct. 5, with the remainder of the students returning to hybrid instruction on Nov. 9.

Healy said he had strongly considered retiring at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, especially after assistant superintendents Marc Natanagara and Debra McKenna retired. But he said he stayed because he felt there was unfinished business, particularly in the context of the ongoing state aid fight and the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the end of last school year: Healy had promised in-person graduations for secondary schools, which were held in July.

Now, with the 2020-2021 school year in motion, "It just feels right," Healy said. "When you know, you know."

"It is my sincere hope that Mr. Healy is as proud of his accomplishments with our Toms River Regional School District as I am to have worked with him to facilitate our community's collective goals," Board President Anna Polozzo said. "As president of the Toms River Schools Board of Education, as a taxpayer, and a parent in our school district, I personally along with the entire Toms River Regional Schools Board of Education am very grateful for Superintendent David Healy's efforts for our community."

Over his tenure, Healy has led the district's efforts to provide full-day kindergarten, high school career academies in STEM, business and the arts, make long-needed upgrades and critical repairs to its buildings. He and Business Administrator William Doering have been leaders in the fight over S2, which has slashed state funding to nearly 200 school districts and is anticipated to have a cumulative loss of more than $110 million in Toms River.

Healy also has faced unrelenting criticism from factions in the district who have remained loyal to disgraced superintendent Michael Ritacco, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2012 in what federal Judge Joel Pisano said was the "worst case of public corruption" he had ever seen.

Ritacco, who had been superintendent from 1991 until his arrest in 2010, pleaded guilty in 2012 to two of the 27 charges he faced for accepting at least $2 million in bribes to direct the district's insurance contracts to a specific broker.

Six weeks after Ritacco was sentenced to prison in 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck, destroying a third of Toms River's property base and adding to the district's stress. Frank M. Roselli, who was appointed interim superintendent after Ritacco's arrest, stepped down in the spring of 2013 following a heart attack.

The board voted unanimously to hire Healy in April 2014 after the district used an outside firm to conduct the search. Community surveys and meetings in 2013 conducted by that firm highlighted a number of concerns, including perceptions of nepotism, the crumbling facilities, a technology gap (including computers that were 20 years old and no wireless connectivity), and curriculum concerns.

Also high on the list was rebuilding the public trust following the Ritacco scandal.

Polozzo, who was elected to the board in 2018, said the district has been rewarded by the board putting its trust in Healy.

"Superintendent Healy and his team got to work with our Board of Education to help an angry community come to terms with the damage done," she said. "He showed us the path forward, encouraged us that we could not only rise from adversity but thrive in the face of it and begin the journey back with hope, and restored faith in our shared mission to provide the students of Toms River Regional Schools with a world-class education."

Full-day kindergarten was implemented in the fall of 2015, and the district launched STEM, business and arts career academies at the district's three high schools in the fall of 2017. The first class of students in those academies is scheduled to graduate in June 2021.

The district also has received six straight Certificates of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International, and was named a "high-performing district" by the state Department of Education in 2017 and 2020, after being unable to meet the criteria for this designation prior. The district was named to the College Board’s 9th Annual AP Honor Roll and was named the "Distinguished Organization of the Year" by the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce in 2017.

AP scores have risen, and dozens of students have taken part in advanced projects and received prestigious recognition for their academic efforts, including being published in research journals.

Under Healy's supervision the district has obtained $4 million in competitive grants and sponsorships, including naming rights for what is now RWJBarnabas Health Arena.

The approval by voters in January 2019 of the $147 million the Rebuilding Our Schools bond package — one of the largest referendums put to voters — was a significant success. Critical repairs funded by the bond package would have had to come out of a school budget already squeezed by the deep cuts imposed under S2, including a $5.3 million cut in the 2020-2021 school year.

"I have confidence in this community that when you present them information in an honest, transparent fashion they will come through," Healy said after the bond package was approved. It was the first yes vote on a referendum since 2002, when voters approved a $39 million project to build Toms River Intermediate South in Beachwood. Bond proposals put before voters in 2006 and 2007 both were rejected.

The friction with Ritacco supporters has been a constant, however. Healy was criticized over changes in the district's hiring process, which included the hiring of a human resources director, and faced pushback over the process to bring the building referendum to fruition.

There also was significant pushback on the issues raised during the run-up to the building repair referendum. Healy and Doering held more than 20 meetings around the district with parents and taxpayers to address questions about the bond package, which will bring air conditioning to district schools that have not had it.

Healy also faced significant criticism after the school board agreed in 2017 to rescind his original five-year contract and grant a new five-year contract that was to extend through the 2021-22 school year, after the state Department of Education lifted its salary cap on superintendents.

His base salary this year is $211,201; the contract did not provide for merit bonuses last year and did not include them for this school year or the 2021-22 school year. The contract provides for Healy to receive payment for unused sick days at a per-diem rate; unused vacation days, which he could not carry over from year to year, will be paid per-diem at two days per month, meaning the district will pay for a maximum of 12 vacation days when Healy retires Jan. 1. The number of sick days he could receive compensation for was not immediately available.

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