Suspended Mount Olive schools chief gets day in court; judge to rule next week

MORRISTOWN — A judge is expected to make a decision next week in the case of Mount Olive school Superintendent Robert Zywicki, who said the district board of education violated the state's Open Public Meetings Act when it suspended him in October.

Zywicki's attorney, Stephen Edelstein of the Weiner Law Group, and Marc Zitomer, representing the board, presented their arguments in a virtual hearing to state Superior Court judge Louis Sceusi Friday morning. Sceusi said he plans to announce early next week whether Zywicki should be reinstated based on the board's actions during and prior to two October meetings.

The hearing didn't shed any light on why Zywicki was placed on paid leave after four years leading the district of almost 5,000 students. Neither the superintendent nor the board have explained the rift publicly, leaving families in the dark.

Instead, Zywicki's court case centers on a so-called Rice Notice, a notification legally required when a board plans to discuss an individual's employment at a meeting. The procedure allows the employee to request the discussion be held in public.

The Mount Olive board served Zywicki with a Rice Notice prior to its Oct. 10 meeting, which the superintendent attended. It did not send a notice for Oct. 17 but apparently intended to, as court documents show Zitomer later sent an email to Edelstein acknowledging that it was not sent.

Board members did not take any action after its closed session Oct. 10 but sent Zywicki a letter that night informing him of his suspension, Edelstein said. A week later, the board announced it had placed the superintendent on paid administrative leave.

The lack of a second notice, Edelstein argued Friday, is evidence that the board acted improperly by suspending Zywicki in private and without adequately informing him.

"The board knew that he was entitled to a Rice Notice. The board thought they had sent him a Rice Notice," Edelstein said. "So everything that you're hearing from that point forward is an explanation to deal with the fact that a mistake was made."

Zitomer said the board provided a notice Oct. 10 when Zywicki's employment was discussed and was not required to send another one the following week. The matters discussed in the Oct. 17 closed session involved attorney-client privilege and potential litigation issues, which Zywicki would not have been privy to.

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"Yes, it is true. I acknowledge that I had thought that Dr. Zywicki had received a Rice Notice," Zitomer said. "But quite frankly, it was of no consequence because we didn't need to discuss him at the Oct. 17 meeting."

Zywicki has also filed four tort claim notices, each for $5.13 million, notifying the district that he plans to sue board members Antoine Gayles, William Robinson and Elizabeth Ouimet, and board President Anthony Strillaci. The superintendent allegeds Gayles and Robinson defamed him by publicly discussing his suspension. He also says Ouimet discussed his employment with Gayles via email, and Strillaci should not have been involved in personnel discussions because he has relatives who work for the district.

Zitomer countered Friday that Zywicki's claims are a way to prevent board members from being able to vote on his potential reinstatement due to a conflict of interest, should Sceusi require the board to take a new vote.

"I can only surmise he believes that, by getting the people that he doesn't think are favorable to him conflicted out, that if a revote is taken, the outcome might turn out differently," Zitomer said.

Edelstein pushed back, saying there were "completely separate and different reasons" for filing the claims. He said there should be no "wiggle room" in the Open Public Meetings Act's requirements for board transparency, and that the law would be undermined if the board's argument is accepted.

Zywicki filed a lawsuit against Mount Olive Oct. 28, less than two weeks after his suspension was announced. He was named superintendent of the district in 2018.

This article has been updated to accurately reflect Robert Zywicki's attendance at the Oct. 10 Mount Olive Board of Education meeting.

Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.

Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Mount Olive NJ schools superintendent gets day in court