Woodbridge Teacher Charged With Shoplifting Cannot Get Job Back

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The New Jersey appellate court ruled on Friday that the Woodbridge school district was justified in firing a fourth-grade teacher in 2016 after she was twice charged with shoplifting. The court also ruled that Michele Schawb cannot return to her $95,000-a-year job.

Schwab, a fourth-grade teacher at Robert Mascenik school, continued to contest her firing, even after Woodbridge's decision was upheld by a state arbitrator last year. Her appeal made it up to New Jersey's highest court, but — like the state arbitrator before them — the court ruled against her on Friday. Here is the court's Friday decision: https://law.justia.com/cases/n...

Patch wrote about Schwab's firing last year: Incredibly, her alleged shoplifting came to light after one of her fourth-grade students recognized her on surveillance footage released by Song of the Sea, the Beach Haven, LBI gift shop she allegedly stole from.

On March 5, 2016, security cameras at Song of the Sea 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 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.

That was not Schwab's first brush with the police, however:

Woodbridge originally tried to remove her from the classroom in 2015, when she was observed by security agents at the Woodbridge Center Sears 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.

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.

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.

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.

She was then arrested a year later in the Beach Haven incident.

The state arbitrator, James Mastriani, ruled last year 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.

You can read the arbitrator's entire decision last year on Schwab here.

Schwab made $95,250 a year as a fourth-grade teacher at Robert Mascenik.

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.

Past Patch reporting: Well-Regarded Woodbridge Teacher Fired Over Shoplifting Charges

Surveillance video screenshots from Song of the Seas; used with their permission