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No-confidence motion dies as public panels sharply split over superintendent
Summary
A motion of no confidence in Superintendent Michael Sitta failed for lack of a second amid a heated public-comment period that split residents and prompted multiple speakers to defend the superintendent and the district's recent financial and student-safety reports.
The board declined to advance a motion of no confidence in Superintendent Michael Sitta after no board member seconded the proposal. A public commenter who identified herself during the agenda-only comment period raised the motion and said the superintendent had made recent decisions "not about our students, our teachers, and our taxpayers" and moved "no confidence" in his leadership.
Multiple residents and union leaders spoke in the meeting's general public-comment period in strong support of Sitta. Scott Campbell, president of the Toms River Education Association, said the district's staff are valued and urged the community to focus on students. Phil Brilliant and other residents described Sitta's long ties to the district and accused outside political actors of interfering with governance. The board president pushed back at critics, telling one commenter that "if you're gonna come after Mike Sitta ... you will have to come through me and the rest of this board." The motion failed for lack of a second and therefore did not proceed to a vote.
