CHS BASEBALL COACH INVESTIGATOR WAS NOT HIRED THROUGH OPEN PROCESS

Leroy Seitz

As the school district awaits the investigation into claims of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) by Columbia High School baseball Coach Joe Fischetti, it appears that the outside investigator was not hired through an open bidding process as was previously reported.

Leroy Seitz, the superintendent of the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District, was contracted on Feb. 26 to review the previous internal HIB investigations into Fischetti after several parents filed formal complaints last year.

One former player, David DeFranco, also filed a lawsuit claiming such actions by Fischetti and other coaches against him.

Coach Joe Fischetti

The district had issued findings last year to the parents indicating their claims of HIB were valid. But when it came time to re-appoint Fischetti for the 2016 season, the board voted, 6-3, to reappoint him at the Feb. 22 meeting.

At the same meeting, however, Superintendent John Ramos announced an outside investigator would be hired to review the internal findings and determine if they were valid. Seitz was later hired under an agreement that would pay him no more than $5,000. 

In a recent News-Record article, District Spokeswoman Suzanne Turner was quoted as saying a request for proposals, or RFP, was issued seeking applicants for the job. 

But when we filed a public records request for a copy of the RFP and the list of those who had applied, District Business Administrator Cheryl Schneider responded in writing that no RFP had been issued. She said under state law a contract for $5,000 is below the threshold requiring a public bid.

Asked why she had indicated that an RFP had been issued, Turner did not respond. 

We also requested copies of emails between Ramos and Seitz to see what went on behind the scenes as his hire was negotiated since it was not done through an RFP. Schneider indicated those were confidential as part of the ongoing investigation, citing state law that indicates it cannot be released if it "shall be detrimental to the public interest." 

We had previously revealed that Seitz had a potential conflict of interest having previously hired Board Attorney Philip Stern as a labor counsel in Parsippany-Troy Hills. Stern is also the South Orange-Maplewood School District HIB coordinator.

The district has also said that Seitz's report will not be made public, but an update on the situation will be provided at the next regular school board meeting on April 18.