Well-Regarded Woodbridge Teacher Fired Over Shoplifting Charges

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A highly regarded Woodbridge Township elementary school teacher with more than 16 years on the job was fired by the district after she was charged with shoplifting in two different incidents.

Michele Schwab, a fourth-grade teacher at Robert Mascenik school, contested her dismissal, but the district's decision was upheld by a state arbitrator, whose decision on the matter was made public this week.

Schwab had worked for the Woodbridge Township School district since 2001. She was widely regarded as an excellent educator, receiving a TEACHNJ Act commendation of "Highly Effective Teacher" as well as being part of the Governor's Educator of the Year program. Schwab made $95,260 per year, according to NJ.com.

However, on April 29, 2016, the Woobridge Board of Education sought to remove Schwab from her tenured position as an elementary school teacher after she was arrested twice for shoplifting. The first incident allegedly occurred Feb. 7, 2015, at the Sears at the Woodbridge Center Mall; Schwab was observed by security agents in the store placing a New York Jets hat and two Jets hooded sweatshirts into her purse, according to the school district. Schwab was stopped by store security and admitted to trying to steal the items, worth about $229 in total, according to the school district.

Sears referred the matter to the Woodbridge Township police, who filed an incident report. The complaint was eventually dismissed in May of that year when the Sears security agent failed to show up in court. The school board became aware of Schwab's arrest also in May, when her attorney sent a letter notifying school Superintendent Robert Zega of the incident. According to district policy and state law, Schwab should have reported the incident within 14 days.

Zega suspended Schwab from her teaching position for over two months, with pay, but ultimately decided to bring her back into the classroom after he learned the criminal charges were dismissed.

"We were hoping that this was a one-time incident, and we wanted to be compassionate to Ms. Schwab and return her to the classroom," Zega said, according to the ruling.

However, just over a year later, Schwab was arrested again on shoplifting charges, this time on March 5, 2016, at a store called Song of the Sea in Beach Haven. The store's security camera captured Schwab putting a $60 seashell picture frame in her purse, the store owner said. In an attempt to identify the woman, the store owner posted a photo and the video of the theft online, where it was viewed more than 47,000 times, including by at least one of Schwab's fourth-grade students.

Another teacher at Robert Mascenik School told Principal Judy Martino about the video.

Word quickly got out about the Song of the Sea incident, and many students and parents at Robert Mascenik School were upset. Martino said she got calls from at least eight different parents, and the school had to assign guidance counselors to all the fourth-grade classrooms to teach kids about positive behavior.

Schwab plead guilty to the shoplifting charges and the district filed paperwork to terminate her on April 29, 2016. However, Schwab contested her removal and her attorney presented testimony from a psychiatrist. Dr. Avram Mack testified that changes in prescription medicine she was taking led to Schwab "acting out" when faced with high stress.

But the arbitrator, James Mastriani, of Sea Girt, ruled on Jan. 5 that her mental health issues had no effect on the shoplifting and that Schwab's conduct was "illegal, inappropriate and had harmful impacts on the school district." Mastriani also found that the Woodbridge Township Board of Education had just cause to remove Schwab from employment.

The state commissioner of education will now review the arbitrator's ruling. You can read the arbitrator's entire decision on Schwab here.

A call by Patch to Schwab's attorney, Edward Cridge, was not returned.