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Najjar to be reinstated as teacher in Sayreville, but not at high school after being disciplined

Greg Tufaro

@GregTufaro

Former Sayreville High School head football coach George Najjar, whose program was mired in a hazing and sexual-assault scandal that generated national headlines, will remain a teacher in the district, but not until after being disciplined.

The Board of Education approved on Tuesday night the recommendation of Schools Superintendent Rick Labbe that Najjar, who has taught physical education at the high school for 20 years, be reassigned to Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in the district, where he will return to work on Thursday. Richard Tola, another physical education teacher in the district, will be transfered from Eisenhower to the high school on March 2.

Najjar, who earns just under $86,000 annually according to public records, was disciplined by the Board of Education, which will withhold his annual salary increment beginning with the 2015-16 academic year.

Najjar had been suspended with pay as a teacher since Oct. 16, the day school officials began an internal investigation into his football program regarding the scandal.

Sayreville essentially fired Najjar as the high school's head football coach on Feb. 5, posting that position on the district's website with an application deadline of Feb. 19.

The district has already conducted a first round of interviews with candidates and is expected to begin a second round of interviews with finalists this week, according to a person with knowledge of the coaching search. Labbe said the district could name Najjar's successor as early as March 3.

Sayreville, which had a string of 20 consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff appearances snapped last season after Labbe canceled the remainder of the year in late September amid allegations of locker-room misconduct, is widely regarded as one of the state's premier public school programs. The Bombers won three consecutive sectional titles from 2011 to 2013.

Labbe reinstated the football program during a Board of Education meeting last month and later addressed the coaching vacancy in his only public comments on the search for Najjar's successor.

"Today we took the next important step toward the 2015 football season," Labbe said when asked on Feb. 5 about the job posting. "We are excited to launch a comprehensive search to find the next leader of our football program."

Seven Sayreville players were charged in connection with the hazing and sexual assault of four teammates inside the high school football locker room over a 10-day period last September.

All of the criminally charged players have been suspended from school and none will be tried as adults. One of the alleged victims plans to sue the Borough of Sayreville and Sayreville Public Schools for $1.5 million, according to a notice of intent letter NJ Advance Media obtained last month.

None of the coaches have been criminally charged. Four assistants also were suspended with pay from their tenured teaching positions on Oct. 16, but all were reinstated on Nov. 18.

More than 1,100 of Najjar's supporters have signed a petition, which was presented to the Board of Education in November, asking that the district take into consideration their comments when determining the coach's future.

Najjar compiled a 165-54 record during 20 seasons at Sayreville, including a 21-13 postseason mark. He previously coached at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he went 94-32-1.

Najjar guided Sayreville to a 12-0 record in 2012 as the Bombers finished undefeated for the first time since 1949 and only the third time in school history.

Najjar repeatedly has denied interview requests since the scandal involving his program came to light.