Wall Superintendent Rejects Calls To Resign Amid Hazing Probe 'Innuendo, Malicious Lies'

WALL, NJ — The ongoing fallout from the Wall Township football hazing scandal prompted more heated discussion at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, and a fierce response from the superintendent, who pushed back on repeated calls for her and the board to resign.

Superintendent Tracy Handerhan said the calls for resignations, which included one from state Sen. Paul Sarlo of Passaic County, “a disservice to the students.”

Sarlo called on Handerhan and the board to resign in the wake of a report that said at least two of the students charged in the hazing case had been offered a tuition deal to leave the district, NJ.com reported. He said a state monitor should be appointed until a new board is elected and a new superintendent appointed.

The report said the two students were among several charged with hazing, attempted criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual contact, false imprisonment and harassment in connection to incidents that happened in September and October in the Wall High School football locker room, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said Jan. 10. The prosecutor's office has not identified them because they are juveniles.

Questions about that offer, presented by the school district's attorney, were not answered at Tuesday's board meeting.

“Why call for the resignation of those who are facing this issue head-on?” Handerhan said in a three-minute statement, which can be heard at the 2:51 mark of the meeting video. “Why ask for the resignation of the district leaders that actively sought the assistance of state agencies including the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to address this difficult situation?”

Handerhan said the district’s responsibility to maintain confidentiality with regard to the students and the staff members is not optional.

“The inability to speak to or defend oneself creates an unavoidable information vacuum that is quickly filled with innuendo, half-truths, rumor, fake news and malicious lies,” she said. “The amount of time spent mitigating untruths, fighting concerted retaliation and defending the fact that student and personnel matters are confidential is nothing short of shocking.”

The hazing scandal, which first surfaced publicly Nov. 9, has included allegations that multiple students held a victim by his arms and legs while another poked him with a broomstick. Last week, an attorney for at three victims said the incidents happened repeatedly. Read more: NJ Student Hazing Incidents Happened Repeatedly, Attorney Says

Three coaches were suspended in November, including Anthony Grandinetti, the head coach, according to an Asbury Park Press report.

On Tuesday, the school board approved a move to terminate one employee, and approved administrative leave for an employee that was imposed Dec. 20 and is set to end Friday. But whether those moves are related to the hazing scandal was not clear.

The employees were identified only by employee number, and the number of the terminated employee does not match those listed in the Nov. 16 agenda, when the three coaches were placed on leave after news of the hazing first broke.

The continuing suspension of Grandinetti brought questions from one parent about the future of the football team.

“What's next for my son, a 15-year-old sophomore football player who loves his friends and his teammates dearly and wants nothing more than to stay at this school,” said Chris Rogers, who noted he is a teacher and football coach in the New York City public schools. He said the football team has not had any formal communication with the school district since before Thanksgiving, when the district canceled the team’s game against Manasquan.

“I have legitimate concerns about the future of the Wall football program,” Rogers said, noting that the players have been told a fall 2022 season has been scheduled, but nothing more.

“Who’s their coach?” Rogers said, adding the players need to be preparing for the fall with weight room workouts, and none of that is happening, which he said is “a very serious health and safety concern for my son and his friends.”

Grandinetti and two other coaches on the team — Michael Cerminaro and Joseph LaFerlita — had their winter sports assignments rescinded at the Dec. 14 meeting. Grandinetti was to supervise the weight room; that duty has instead been assigned to James Rochford, according to the board agenda from December.

The concern for the future has led to Rogers’ son looking to transfer to another school, and Rogers said other players would follow if the district does not act on choosing a football coach soon.

“No one seems to care what he or his friends truly want,” Rogers said. “No one with any significant role has taken the time to ask him or taken the time or effort or energy to find out what he needs or wants.”

Betsy Cross, a persistent critic of the school board, blistered the board again, this time over the report the district had offered to pay the tuition if students accused in the hazing probe left the district to attend other schools.

Her demands to know who authorized the offer were met with silence, and when she continued to shout from the audience after Board President Ralph Addonizio told her that her time was up, the board took a recess as he demanded Cross leave the meeting.

Cross has repeatedly battled with board members over the years and demanded they resign over a variety of issues.

She also was a vocal critic of Cheryl Dyer, the superintendent who preceded Handerhan. Dyer's contract was not renewed after a blowup in the district over the editing of a student photo in the 2016-17 high school yearbook to remove a reference to President Donald Trump from the student' T-shirt.

Cross, who was elected by write-in in November to serve on the board, criticized the appointments of Thomas Buffa and James Maliff, demanding to know if background checks were conducted.

Buffa was appointed to a one-year term by Monmouth County Executive Superintendent Lester W. Richens to fill the seat that would have gone Cross. Cross insisted Tuesday night that she was not eligible for the seat because she has a pending lawsuit against the district. She never formally declined to take the seat, Addonizio said.

Maliff was one of five candidates interviewed Tuesday evening to fill the seat vacated in November by Russell Gartz, who resigned citing harassment of his family because his son was a member of the football team, the Asbury Park Press reported. Maliff has lived in Wall since 1967 and is an assistant principal at Ocean Township Intermediate School, and one of that school’s anti-bullying coordinators.

The board did not reply to Cross's criticisms.

Handerhan defended the board.

“These volunteers seated before you display not only a deep commitment to Wall Township but courage,” she said. “Each person sitting at this dais is working tirelessly to right this ship in tumultuous waters.”

“What message does it send when those who tackle difficult issues head-on and follow the law are called on to resign?” she said.