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Friday, June 6, 2025

Suspended N.J. school district superintendent files whistleblower lawsuit - NJ.com

A suspended Gloucester County schools superintendent has filed a whistleblower lawsuit accusing district officials of a “calculated campaign of targeted retaliation.”

Washington Township Superintendent Eric Hibbs said the retaliation occurred after he raised questions about an insurance contract awarded by the local school board.

Hibbs was put on paid administrative leave by a divided school board in March. He remains on leave.

Hibbs is a longtime administrator who was hired in May 2023 following 10 years as the schools superintendent in Marlboro in Monmouth County.

His lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Gloucester County, cites the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

It names as defendants the school board and the board president, Julie Kozempel.

The lawsuit outlines conflicts dating to August, when Hibbs first questioned the hiring of a company three years earlier as a consultant for the school district’s employee health benefits.

Hibbs claimed that the company was hired despite submitting a “materially defective” proposal, according to the lawsuit.

He reported his concerns to multiple oversight bodies, including the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, and state deputy attorneys general, the lawsuit states.

Hibbs claims that district officials responded by taking over key responsibilities of his job and “orchestrated the filing of a fraudulent ethics complaint against him,” the lawsuit...



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