Toms River Mayor Sues Middletown Schools, 2 Others Over Tenure Charges

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The mayor of Toms River has filed a lawsuit alleging tenure charges filed against him by the Middletown Township Board of Education were part of coordinated political retribution for what he said were steps he took to eliminate patronage jobs and waste in Toms River.

Daniel T. Rodrick filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court in Monmouth County alleging violations of the Open Public Records Act and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, along with violations of his civil rights and the state Constitution.

It names the Middletown Township Board of Education and the board members individually who voted to approve tenure charges against him in December 2024, along with Superintendent Jessica Alfone, district business administrator Amy P. Doherty, Thorne Middle School Principal Shannon Smith. In addition, it names Kevin Geoghegan, former Toms River council president and president of the Silverton First Aid Squad, and Art Gallagher, who worked for Toms River under former Mayor Maurice Hill and was Hill's campaign consultant. Gallagher also was a campaign consultant for Frank Capone and Jacqueline Tobacco, the president and vice president of the school board.

Requests for comment from the Middletown schools, from Gallagher and from Geoghegan were not answered Friday.

Rodrick began teaching in Middletown in 2002 as a science teacher at Thorne Middle School. In 2017 he won election to the Toms River Township Council, and won the mayor's seat in 2023.

He was placed on indefinite leave in December 2024 by the district, and tenure charges were filed by the Middletown Township School District shortly afterward. The tenure charges have not been resolved and remain pending before the state Department of Education, according to the lawsuit.

Rodrick was hired over the summer as an assistant principal in Irvington, and according to the lawsuit Middletown schools notified him they saw that as his resignation from the district. Rodrick said he still sees himself as an employee of the Middletown schools because he did not submit a resignation letter.

Rodrick took office as Toms River mayor on Jan. 1, 2024 and immediately fired a number of township employees including Gallagher, who was a confidential aide to Hill. Confidential aides are frequently fired when a government changes hands.

He also replaced Toms River's insurance broker, Conner, Strong and Buckelew, with Fairview Insurance, which he said saved the township millions of dollars. Rodrick alleges Joseph Buckelew called Rodrick and threatened to use his political connections including to Shaun Golden, chairman of the Republican Party in Monmouth County who serves as the county sheriff, to see to it Rodrick was punished.

Conner, Strong and Buckelew came under fire in early September from the state comptroller's office over allegations of conflicts of interest that it said essentially allowed it to bid on and then award insurance contracts to itself.

Rodrick alleges he received a disciplinary letter the day after Buckelew called him, and that it "included a multitude of false allegations" about his effectiveness as a teacher.

He alleges Gallagher, through his connection with Capone and Tobacco, influenced the school district to take multiple disciplinary actions against him dating back to 2022, culminating in the tenure charges. Among those actions were changing his teaching assignments from science to ones he had no background in and assigning him special education students despite the fact that he lacks special education certification.

Rodrick also alleges Gallagher engaged in persistent harassment, including following him to school and taking photos of him arriving at Thorne in a vehicle issued to him by Toms River for mayoral business — an issue that continues to irritate some Toms River residents. He alleges Gallagher falsified and submitted complaints to Middletown school officials alleging Rodrick was doing work for his job as mayor while he was supposed to be teaching.

The tenure charges have not been resolved and remain pending before the state Department of Education, according to the lawsuit.

Rodrick was hired over the summer as an assistant principal in Irvington, and according to the lawsuit Middletown schools notified him they saw that as his resignation from the district. He said he still sees himself as an employee of the Middletown schools because he did not submit a resignation letter.

Rodrick also alleged the district changed his teaching assignment, giving him classes with special education students in spite of him lacking the certification to teach special education, and ignored him or punished him when he raised concerns that the district was depriving those students of a proper education as a result.

Rodrick said he had been consistently rated "highly effective" as a teacher for years before the tenure charges were filed.

He also alleges the release of the tenure charges by the Middletown Township School District in response to OPRA requests, along with the letter notifying parents that he had been placed on leave, were unlawful because they involved confidential personnel files. Copies of the letter about him being placed on leave were circulated by Thorne Middle School parents in a private Facebook group and later shared outside of the group.

The tenure charges and supporting documents — including several that had been redacted by Middletown — were later released by the New Jersey Department of Education in response to an OPRA request.

In naming Geoghegan as a defendant, Rodrick alleged Geoghegan threatened the job of Rodrick's wife, who also works in a Monmouth County school district, because Rodrick had shut down dispatching to Silverton First Aid over what Rodrick says are financial improprieties. Toms River is suing the first aid squad over what the town says is $2 million in funds the squad should have turned over as a share of EMS fees in exchange for receiving fuel.

"After years of publicly exposing wasteful spending, political patronage, and misconduct in local government, Rodrick became the target of a coordinated effort designed to destroy his teaching career, damage his reputation, and silence his reform-driven agenda as mayor of Toms River," a statement from Donald F. Burke, his attorney, said.

"Dan Rodrick did what we want all public servants to do — tell the truth, protect taxpayers, and call out wrongdoing," Burke said. "Instead of being commended, he has been unjustly punished. Public institutions cannot be weaponized for political revenge."

"This is about more than my job — this is about protecting taxpayers and standing up to powerful political insiders," Rodrick said. "Entrenched insiders tried to destroy my career because I exposed corruption. I won’t be silenced."

Rodrick's lawsuit seeks restoration of his employment rights, and to force Middletown to produce extensive records he seeks through an OPRA request, as well as damages.

Rodrick insists he will continue to push forward with his reform agenda in Toms River.

"My message to the people trying to silence me is simple: I will not quit, I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop fighting for taxpayers," he said. "Transparency and accountability are worth defending— no matter the cost."