ASBURY PARK, NJ - In a sweeping lawsuit filed in Monmouth County, Dr. LaShawn Gibson, former Director of Human Resources for the Asbury Park School District, has accused district leaders and board members of pervasive misconduct, including grade inflation, manipulation of attendance records, and retaliatory actions against whistleblowers. The allegations shed light on deep-rooted issues within the district, which Dr. Gibson claims prioritized false appearances over transparency and accountability.
Dr. Gibson, who began her tenure in March 2022, alleges she uncovered a systemic practice of falsifying student records to inflate the district’s performance metrics. According to the complaint, these practices included altering student grades, mismanaging chronically absent students, and unlawfully awarding diplomas to students who had only earned GEDs. The district’s purported goal was to create the illusion of higher graduation and attendance rates.
Key among the accusations is the misuse of the Penn Foster program, an online education platform. Dr. Gibson’s investigation revealed that students who were chronically absent or expelled for behavioral reasons were enrolled in the program, with some receiving Asbury Park High School diplomas despite failing to meet state graduation requirements. At least five students who completed only GED requirements were reported to the state as high school graduates, while others were misclassified as transferring out of state to hide their...
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