NJ school district’s $645K settlement with ex-superintendent

🔹NJ ex-school super gets 6-figure settlement
🔹Super had resigned after having pay suspended
🔹Deal equals roughly salary for over 2 years

MOUNT OLIVE — A frustrating era for the township school district has all but wrapped, as Mount Olive school board members reached a six-figure deal with former Superintendent Robert Zywicki.

Zywicki’s salary and benefits were abruptly suspended in fall 2022 after action from the Mount Olive school board without public explanation.

He then resigned in spring 2023, after filing a whistleblower lawsuit against numerous members of the board and school administration.

At the school board reorganization meeting on Monday, members voted 5-4 to authorize a settlement of $645,000 paid to Zywicki and his wife and co-plaintiff, Melanie Zywicki.

Of that amount, most would be covered by insurance while $152,000 would be paid by the school district, the resolution said.

Zywicki’s salary had reached $244,494 before his October 2022 suspension of pay and benefits, according to analysis by NJ.com.

Based on that amount, the settlement works out to be just over two and a half years’ of the superintendent’s salary.

“The District and Dr. Zywicki have determined that this resolution serves the best interests of all parties involved, including the Mount Olive school community,” a joint statement released by the board attorney said.

“Both parties look forward to moving forward and focusing on their respective future endeavors.”

Super resigned months after pay suspended

Zywicki had blamed “personal grudges” of some members of the board for the situation.

Some critics countered with claims that he had been “double dipping” by spending time and energy on a consulting job when he should have been doing district work.

Those opponents also promoted tenure charges brought against Zywicki, which became void after he stepped down.

Under the settlement dated Dec. 23, Zywicki has agreed to withdraw all pending litigation against the district and its officials as part of the “mutually acceptable resolution of their differences.”

At Monday's meeting, the school board first had to vote on the legal "doctrine of necessity" to consider the deal, despite potential conflicts.

Six of the nine current board members were either named in the suit by Zywicki or had previous personal matters with him.

Two other individuals named in Zywicki’s suit were among critics during Monday’s public comment portions of the meeting.

Former school board secretary Lynn Jones, who retired in October after 32 years in that position, said the added amount being paid by the school board set a “terrible precedent” for future litigation.

Christopher Zeier, who did not run for re-election to the school board in 2023, said he was "disappointed" with the resolution.

Zeier added, “this big pile of garbage is now gone and we can kind of move on.”

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