Report: Rodrick exposed himself to school children
A scathing report depicts a moment where the former middle school teacher and current Toms River Mayor flaunted it at school.
Middletown - A scathing report of former Thorne Middle School teacher and current Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick has revealed that Rodrick had received a "counseling memorandum for inappropriate staff conduct" in October 2022 after he "exposed his chest and stomach in the presence of students and staff in the school's gymnasium."
What prompted Rodrick, a short and portly shaped man in his late 40’s, to expose his chest and stomach to middle school children is uncertain at this time.
The report, seen below, is part of tenure charges filed by the Middletown Township School District. The charges signed by Superintendent Jessica Alfone accuse Rodrick of conducting business for Toms River Township where he serves as Mayor while in his classroom during instructional times. The 127-page document obtained through an OPRA request states “in addition to leaving students unattended during his scheduled instructional time for telephone calls, Rodrick has, on several occasions, performed work utilizing his Toms River email and telephone during his scheduled instructional time. This is unacceptable and warrants removal," the complaint says.
The Patch noted that “the complaint says the issues were ‘the culmination of escalating performance issues with which Rodrick has presented the district,’ and says he was disciplined for inappropriate staff conduct, failing to timely prepare lesson plans, failing to attend faculty meetings, failing to timely respond to parents' inquiries and failing to input student grades."
Several students told school administrators that Rodrick would scream at students when they made mistakes and would refuse to help them when they asked. Some students had been "visibly upset, some in tears due to the difficulties in the class and lack of guidance," according to a summary by Thorne Principal Shannon Smith.
Overall, the complaint says the issues were "the culmination of escalating performance issues with which Rodrick has presented the district.” It also states that he disciplined for inappropriate staff conduct. Whether that included exposing himself in uncertain at this time.
Rodrick has also garnered support statewide, noatbly from republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea, who was excoriated on Facebook for supporting the Mayor.
**This is a developing story
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