NJ Now Investigating CAPS Charter School, Which Wanted To Move Into Mater Dei

NEPTUNE, NJ — CAPS charter school, a controversial charter school that tried to open in the Mater Dei campus in Middletown last year, is now under investigation by the state of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Office of the Comptroller filed a subpoena in November 2024 seeking access to all of CAPS' contracts, lease agreements, spending documents, real estate transactions and financial documents, according to reports Wednesday by NJ.com and the Asbury Park Press.

CAPS stands for College Achieve Public Schools and it is a charter school with campuses in Asbury Park and Neptune.

CAPS-Asbury Park was going to pay St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Middletown $30,000 a month in rent, plus a $150,000 sign-on bonus to rent Mater Dei, the Catholic high school that closed in 2022. They were going to bus students up from Asbury Park to Middletown.

But CAPS withdrew their proposal to move into Mater Dei as controversy swirled around them last year:

Last May, multiple NJ state lawmakers called for CAPS to be investigated after this bombshell Star Ledger report unveiled high salaries CAPS administrators are paid, all in New Jersey taxpayer dollars: CAPS founder and CEO Michael Piscal is paid $697,528 a year. CAPS Paterson director Gemar Mills makes $433,734 a year. Jodi McInerney, director of CAPS Asbury Park — who graduated from Red Bank Catholic — is paid $323,245.

Also, the CAPS-Asbury Park basketball team mysteriously withdrew from the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) after winning the championship last year, after allegations they recruited players from across the state, and who don't live in Asbury Park. Matthew Stanmyre, the same Star Ledger reporter who investigated CAPS' high salaries, broke this story in March that revealed CAPS may have manipulated a loophole that allows students from outside of town if a charter school is not at full enrollment: CAPS put 11 of the most highly ranked basketball players in the state on its '23/'24 team, from towns such as Trenton, Keyport, Newark and Irvington.

Last summer, the Asbury Park school district sued CAPS, saying CAPS siphoned $1.4 million that should have gone to Asbury public schools by enrolling dozens of teenagers who do not actually live in Asbury Park. Out of 338 kids enrolled in CAPS-Asbury Park for the 2023-24 school year, Asbury Park BOE says they were only able to verify 53 actually live in Asbury Park.

Last May: Lawmakers Want CAPS Investigated, As It Seeks Expansion To Middletown

Last July: CAPS Charter School Officially Not Moving Into Mater Dei In Middletown