Teachers Union Urges Suspension For Manchester Superintendent

This article was originally published on Nov. 7, 2023

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township Schools teachers union is urging the Board of Education to place Superintendent John Berenato on administrative leave when it meets Tuesday.

Berenato, who has been accused of age, gender and bias discrimination by Whiting Elementary School Principal Evelyn Swift in a lawsuit, has had 18 grievances filed against him since his hiring in February 2022, according to an Oct. 30 letter from the Manchester Township Education to the school board.

The board meeting is set for 5 p.m. Nov. 7 at Manchester Township Middle School, 2745 Ridgeway Road. The meeting notice says the meeting is to discuss Berenato's contract. He received a five-year contract when he started as superintendent in February 2022.

A copy of the letter was sent to Patch anonymously. Daniel Staples, president of the MTEA, confirmed the letter was authentic.

An email to Berenato requesting comment was not immediately answered.

The MTEA announced it will live stream the meeting on YouTube here.

In addition to grievances the union filed on behalf of Manchester schools staff over actions by Berenato, the letter notes that Berenato is named in a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed in September 2021 against the Pinelands Regional Board of Education, in Little Egg Harbor Township.

Ashleigh Britton, who did not have tenure, alleges in the lawsuit that she was not rehired solely because her due date was shortly before the 2021-22 school year was set to begin, as her performance evaluations had not included any negative ratings. Britton says in the lawsuit that she was not informed about the New Jersey Family Leave Act. Berenato was the supervisor of math and science at Pinelands at the time and informed Britton she was not being rehired.

The MTEA letter urges the board to investigate and to place Berenato on leave while the investigation takes place.

"His continued presence in a supervisory role while these allegations are under investigation creates a situation that is untenable and potentially detrimental to the well-being of our students and staff," the letter says.

"We respectfully request the following immediate actions be taken as these are the actions consistently taken against any and all MTEA members accused of aforementioned violations," the letter says.