The principal and vice principal of Glen Ridge's Ridgewood Avenue School were placed on indefinite leave by district officials effective May 19, said an announcement signed by Superintendent Kyle Arlington and sent to parents that afternoon.
Principal Michael Donovan's temporary ouster, along with that of his second in command, Jonathan Heitmann, comes on the heels of allegations one of his school's teachers spent years grooming a student with romantic missives and secret meetings, as previously reported by The Record and NorthJersey.com.
The district did not comment on whether the move was related to claims of sexual impropriety by the former teacher, Gerald White, but the announcement referred to "safety concerns" and procedures for referring potential issues to law enforcement ? phrases Arlington had used heavily when speaking to the community ahead of a vote to accept White's resignation the week before.
Both roles at Rigewood Avenue School, which serves grades three to six, will be immediately filled by Arlington and Central School Principal Keisha Harris, respectively, the superintendent's letter said.
Donovan's and Heitmann's leaves are effective through the end of the 2024-2025 school year, Arlington said.
School rocked by allegations of 'grooming'
On May 12, precisely one week before Donovan's removal, the district was hit with a tort notice from a student alleging she was "groomed" by White over a number of years, beginning when she was 11 and continuing after she graduated to the district's high school.
A tort claim is not a lawsuit but rather alerts a defendant of a claimant's intention to file an official complaint should the parties fail to reach a settlement and avoid the costlier process of litigation. The victim, referred to in the claim by the legal initialism "MOC," or "Minor of Court," seeks $10 million in damages from the district.
White's alleged coercions were uncovered when another staffer found the victim's diary while cleaning out a classroom and read multiple entries detailing the non-consensual affair, said the victim's attorney, Justin Drazin.
Some of the messages the two shared said the seduction was known to other employees, who attempted to intervene. Nevertheless, the illicit tryst was never reported to authorities or the victim's parents until the diary was found, Drazin said.
Although the victim says White's actions included the bevy of licentious texts, voice memos and romantic emails and that he even requested photos of her, the allegations, as outlined in the notice, do not refer to sexual contact between the two.