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Schools
NJ Schools Sup't Who Once Beat Man With Bat Charged With Sexually Assaulting Family Friend NJ Schools Sup't Who Once Beat Man With Bat Charged With Sexually Assaulting Family Friend
NJ Schools Sup't Who Once Beat Man With Bat Charged With Sexually Assaulting Family Friend A New Jersey schools superintendent who previously admitted beating another man with a baseball bat has been accused of sexually assaulting a family friend while she slept at his house last year. Michael S. Knox, 51, was arrested on Aug. 27 in the Oct. 4, 2020 incident, and charged with second-degree sexual assault, as first reported by The Trentonian. Knox was a superintendent for Fairfield Township schools. His name has been removed from its website. The victim had offered to drive Knox home from a party because he had been drinking, and offered to stay overnight at his Willingboro …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
PA Man Accuses NJ School Janitor Sexually Abused Him In $50 Million Lawsuit PA Man Accuses NJ School Janitor Sexually Abused Him In $50 Million Lawsuit
PA Man Accuses NJ School Janitor Sexually Abused Him In $50 Million Lawsuit A PA man has accused a janitor in New Jersey of sexually assaulting him for years in a $50 million lawsuit filed against the town’s board of education last month, reports say. Former school janitor Raymond Miller allegedly groomed the victim with offerings of candy and ice cream before assaulting the then-nine-year-old in the boys’ bathroom and elsewhere at Lore Elementary School and Antheil Elementary School in Ewing between 1977 and 1981, NJ.com reports citing Mercer County court records. Miller, who died in November 1999, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to tw…

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by Valerie Musson
News
NJ High School Teacher Indicted For Sexual Relationship With Student NJ High School Teacher Indicted For Sexual Relationship With Student
NJ High School Teacher Indicted For Sexual Relationship With Student A former high school teacher in Burlington County has been indicted on charges of having a sexual relationship with a student, authorities announced. Gary Jiampetti, 44 -- formerly a teacher at at Rancocas Valley Regional High School -- was indicted by a Burlington County Grand Jury on two counts of official misconduct, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said. The indictment was returned Aug. 31 and signed by First Assistant Prosecutor Philip S. Aronow. An arraignment will be held soon in Superior Court. The investigation began after the BCPO and the Mount Holly Township Polic…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated
Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated A recent news report says that Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to announce that New Jersey teachers must be vaccinated against COVID-19. Two anonymous sources confirmed the pending announcement exclusively to NJ Advance Media. Washington and California are the only other two states to require teachers be COVID-19 vaccinated. A spokesperson with the New Jersey Education Association said teachers have been preparing for a possible mandate. Murphy will hold his weekly COVID-19 briefing Monday morning. Click here for more from NJ Advance Media.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
New Jersey Has 3rd Best School System In America, WalletHub Says New Jersey Has 3rd Best School System In America, WalletHub Says
New Jersey Has 3rd Best School System In America, WalletHub Says WalletHub has released its latest rankings of the best school systems in America, landing New Jersey at No. 3. The website did its analysis on accounts of performance, funding, safety, class size, and instructor credentials. "Some researchers have found that more resources — or taxes paid by residents — typically result in better school-system performance," Adam McCann wrote. Massachusetts schools were number one in the U.S., followed by Connecticut and New Jersey. New York ranked No. 14. Here are the other states that ranked among the top 10 in the nation: 1. Massachusetts  2. Con…

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by Nicole Acosta
Obituaries
Legendary Rockland Police Chief Who Captured Three Brinks Murderers Dies Legendary Rockland Police Chief Who Captured Three Brinks Murderers Dies
Legendary Rockland Police Chief Who Captured Three Brinks Murderers Dies TRIBUTE: When they consider true heroes, crimefighters in North Jersey invariably include a lawman from just across the state line who single-handedly captured a trio of self-proclaimed revolutionaries after they killed two police officers and a guard following a $1.6 million armored car robbery. Alan Colsey, who died Wednesday at 69, had an impressive law enforcement career. He helped Rockland law enforcement computerize police records, get mobile data terminals in patrol cars and establish a radio system for first responders. Yet it was the Nyack native’s heroism on Oct. 20, 1981 tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
5th Grader's Hitler School Project Leads To Teacher's Resignation, Principal's Return 5th Grader's Hitler School Project Leads To Teacher's Resignation, Principal's Return
5th Grader's Hitler School Project Leads To Teacher's Resignation, Principal's Return A Tenafly school teacher has resigned following a 5th-grader’s presentation of the “accomplishments” of Adolph Hitler. The school principal – who’d been suspended with the teacher – is being reinstated, under a vote by the Tenafly Board of Education Monday night. Following the recommendations of Schools Supt. Shauna DeMarco, trustees accepted the unidentified Maugham Elementary School teacher’s resignation -- which will come after a leave of absence ends in January 2022 -- and agreed to return Principal Jennifer Ferrara to the job she’s held for more than a decade. Both had been on paid a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
Retired Union County Middle School Theater Director Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Retired Union County Middle School Theater Director Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student
Retired Union County Middle School Theater Director Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student A retired Union County middle school teacher and theater director was charged with sexually assaulting a student while on school grounds several years ago. Ronald Wells, 69, asked the alleged victim to join him after school to model costumes for a school play and, between costume changes, began touching the student in a sexual manner, according to Special Victims Unit Supervisor and Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, who is prosecuting the case. The incident occurred in a third-floor room of the Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School in 2016, Lawlor said. Wells, a Summit resident,…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Students Petition To Save Graduation Seat For Bergen Classmate Who Died By Suicide Students Petition To Save Graduation Seat For Bergen Classmate Who Died By Suicide
Students Petition To Save Graduation Seat For Bergen Classmate Who Died By Suicide A Bergen County teen who took his own life won't be honored at his high school's upcoming graduation ceremony, prompting protest from students and community members. Instead, there will be a moment of silence, district officials said. A memorial service honoring 16-year-old Jordan Falco during the 2021 graduation ceremony next Tuesday would "set a bad precedent," a Change.org petition quotes Northern Valley Demarest High School Principal Dr. Timothy Gouraige as saying.  Gouraige, in his defense, told Daily Voice that it was "a district decision, not a building decision," and denied saying…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Teacher, Principal Suspended Amid Investigation Of School Project On Hitler’s ‘Accomplishments' Teacher, Principal Suspended Amid Investigation Of School Project On Hitler’s ‘Accomplishments'
Teacher, Principal Suspended Amid Investigation Of School Project On Hitler’s ‘Accomplishments' A Tenafly school teacher and principal are both suspended while their district superintendent investigates why a student’s presentation of the “accomplishments” of Adolph Hitler was assigned, as well as why concerns about it were ignored. A preliminary review of the 5th-grade Maugham Elementary School assignment “indicates that the curriculum and learning standards were not appropriately implemented,” said Tenafly Schools Supt. Shauna C. DeMarco (photo above). “An attempt to individualize the project resulted in the student receiving misguided instruction from the teacher,” DeMarco noted in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Music Teacher From Wayne Charged In Ho-Ho-Kus Juvenile Sex Case Music Teacher From Wayne Charged In Ho-Ho-Kus Juvenile Sex Case
Music Teacher From Wayne Charged In Ho-Ho-Kus Juvenile Sex Case UPDATE: A music teacher from Wayne had "sexually inappropriate conduct" with an underage Ho-Ho-Kus teen, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Thursday. Kyle Kubicki, 29, formerly of Mahwah, remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack following his arrest Tuesday. He's charged with providing obscenity to a minor and child endangerment through sexual conduct for "engaging in sexual conversations with a child under the age of 18 and also providing pornographic materials" to the youngster "for the purpose of sexual…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Report: Transphobic Rant Spurs Dueling Harassment Case For NJ School School Admin, Diners Report: Transphobic Rant Spurs Dueling Harassment Case For NJ School School Admin, Diners
Report: Transphobic Rant Spurs Dueling Harassment Case For NJ School School Admin, Diners The vice principal of a New Jersey middle school who tossed beer at a group of people filming his wife rant against a transgender women's bathroom is accusing the people who got hit with the beer of harassment. And the people who got hit with the beer are accusing the school admin of the same. A Galloway Township municipal court judge on Thursday is expected to examine the cases of Michael Smurro -- who works at Neptune Middle School -- along with those he accused of harassing him and his wife, Lisa, AP News reports. The incident occurred April 24 at Fred and Ethel's in Absecon. An admini…

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by Cecilia Levine