Toms River Schools Superintendent Michael Citta, former Ritacco Underling Irate After State Ethics Board Denies Request to Give $80,000 Pay Raise, Blames Mayor Rodrick for Interfering
Toms River- Toms River Regional Schools Superintendent Michael Citta is now accusing Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick of interference after a state ethics panel rejected his $80,000 pay increase as years of local political ties and old scandals shadow the district’s leadership fight.
The controversy erupted in October, when the Toms River Regional Board of Education began considering a new five-year contract for Citta that included an $80,000 pay increase — bringing his annual salary to roughly $308,012 by 2029. Supporters on the board argued that the raise was justified by Citta’s leadership during a difficult financial period, including steep cuts in state aid. But several board members, along with Rodrick, saw the proposal as excessive and politically driven.
Rodrick says he’s not interfering, but exercising his right as a Toms River citizen and taxpayer to object to the enormous raise Citta is seeking just weeks after Citta declared the school district is on the verge of bankruptcy.
“The lengths to which Mike Citta is willing to go to fleece the taxpayers and increase his salary by $80,000 a year to $308,000 are outrageous. This includes falsely accusing a 67-year-old woman of peeping in his windows, filing fake police reports, and impugning the character of our Chief of Police, Guy Maire – an honest man who has spent the last 29 years safeguarding our community. What kind of man tries to take our schools district into bankruptcy proceedings while simultaneously giving himself an $80,000 raise. Mike Citta’s administration has been an abysmal failure, and he should resign as superintendent of schools,” Rodrick said.
The political storm surrounding Toms River Regional Schools Superintendent Michael Citta is intensifying, as legal threats, ethics complaints, and personal accusations engulf the state’s sixth-largest school district. What began as a contract dispute over Citta’s proposed $80,000 raise has spiraled into a full-scale political feud pitting the district’s leadership against the township’s mayor — and drawing in the police department, county prosecutors, and the state School Ethics Commission.
The problem is that most of the sitting school board members who are related school employees to and personally connected to Citta cannot vote on the super’s $80,000 salary raise. Two of the remaining board members who can vote are against it, so the vote cannot pass. In light of this roadblock, Citta appealed to the state Ethics Commission to allow his political allies to vote.
That board denied his claim of necessity; now he’s blaming the other board members, a police chief, and Mayor Rodrick for meddling.
At the center of the conflict stands Citta, a career educator who rose through the district ranks, some say on his name and political affiliations alone, now finds himself fighting to secure a lucrative contract renewal amid mounting opposition in a district on the verge of reported financial collapse and even bankruptcy unders his leadership, according to Citta.
Citta claims political meddling by Mayor Daniel Rodrick has obstructed his ability to administer the district and led to intimidation tactics aimed at him and his allies. But Rodrick counters that his involvement is no more than the lawful exercise of a taxpayer’s voice — saying he simply opposes what he calls an “outrageous raise” at a time when Toms River families are struggling under rising taxes.
The raise that split the district
The board was unable to act on the contract because a majority of its nine members were deemed conflicted. Three trustees — Vice President James Capone, Kathy Eagan, and Joseph Jubert — were ruled ineligible to vote due to relatives working within the district.
Two others, Lisa Contessa and Ashley Lamb, later recused themselves after consulting township officials about potential conflicts they had with the superintendent. That left the board without a quorum — effectively freezing Citta’s contract and his raise.
Citta turns to the state, and loses
Faced with the deadlock, Citta’s attorney, William Burns, petitioned the New Jersey School Ethics Commission to invoke the “Doctrine of Necessity,” a seldom-used mechanism that allows conflicted board members to vote when too many recusals prevent a quorum.
The state ruled that voting on Citta’s $80,000 pay raise was not an eligible emergency action.
Citta’s camp argued that the impasse was paralyzing district governance and that the commission should allow the full board to act. The ethics commission disagreed with his position.
But board members Maria Matarazzo and Paola Pascarella pushed back forcefully. In a seven-page letter filed November 25 with the commission, the two accused Citta and Burns of trying to “circumvent the Code of Ethics” by reclassifying conflicted members as eligible. They alleged that Citta used political pressure and intimidation to secure votes in his favor and claimed that the raise was being pushed through during a time of fiscal instability.
“The district is facing layoffs, tax increases, and service cuts, yet the superintendent is demanding an $80,000 raise,” the letter said, calling the move “tone-deaf and unethical.” Matarazzo and Pascarella also accused Citta of weaponizing law enforcement after he filed a police complaint accusing Matarazzo of trespassing on his Washington Street property — a charge she strongly denied.
The School Ethics Commission ultimately sided against Citta, rejecting his petition to reinstate conflicted members. The decision effectively halted his raise and left Citta with plan B, blame everyone else.
Citta’s attorney escalates with legal threats
Days later, on December 5, Fairfield attorney Patrick Toscano Jr. — representing both Citta and the school board — sent a two-page letter to Mayor Rodrick, the Township Council, and Police Chief Guy Maire accusing them of “real and questionable political interference with Board of Education business” and “curious law enforcement improprieties.” The letter, obtained by this publication, threatened legal action to “ensure that Superintendent Citta’s ability to administer the district is not thwarted or stymied by outside political influence.”
In other words, if he doesn’t get his raise, he can’t administer the financially troubled district? Only in New Jersey.
Toscano also claimed the board’s governance was being “compromised by the threat of political influence, law enforcement malfeasance, or illegal retaliation,” and stated that a formal tort claim notice — the precursor to a lawsuit — would follow in due course.
It was a last ditch effort by Citta to get his money from the financially strapped district.
Copies were sent to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey School Ethics Commission.
Police, mayor reject claims of bias
He even blamed the police chief after Citta filed a police report against a board member. Citta had reportedly called several allied high ranking police officers to a misdemeanor call. Police Chief Maire says appropriate level officers with no personal conflicts were insted dispatched to the call, according to department policy.
Police Chief Guy Maire called the claims unfounded, insisting that “Toms River Police treat everyone equally and fairly” and that the department “does not take sides.” Maire confirmed that officers had responded to Citta’s home in November after he alleged that Matarazzo had been seen peering through his windows but emphasized that the department’s handling of the call was routine and impartial.
“Let us be clear. This is nothing more than an attempt on the part of our fellow board members- in addition to Mr. Citta and Mr. Bums- to unjustifiably circumvent the Code of Ethics imposed on school oard members pursuant to N.J.S.A. §18A:12-24 and §18A:12-24.1, all to accomplish the objective of providing Mr. Citta–with whom several board members have a personal friendship– a new 5-year contract that includes a more than 35% (approximately $80,000) raise over the 5-y ar life of the proposed contract,” Mattarazo said. “Nonetheless, this, at a time when the District has considered filing for bankruptcy and has been forced to raise school taxes on residents by over 20% within the last few years.”
There was no evidence reportedly linking Matarazzo to that incident. At this time, no charges of filing a false police report have been filed against the Superintendent.
Mayor Rodrick also pushed back, saying the superintendent’s legal threats were “a distraction from the real issue — the taxpayers.”
“I’m not meddling in school business,” Rodrick said. “I’m a resident, a taxpayer, and a parent. I have every right to object to an $80,000 raise when residents are seeing their school taxes increase by double digits.”
Rodrick, a Republican who has frequently sparred with political figures from both parties, said his opposition to Citta’s raise was based on financial responsibility, not politics.
“The schools are running a deficit, teachers are losing positions, and families are being squeezed,” he said. “It’s not about personalities — it’s about priorities.”
Past political ties and old scandals resurface
Citta’s opponents have also revived questions about his political connections. Before becoming superintendent in 2022, Citta served as assistant superintendent under former schools chief Michael Ritacco — who was convicted in a federal bribery and corruption scheme that sent shockwaves through Ocean County’s education and political circles. Ritacco served more than six years in prison after admitting to taking bribes from insurance brokers.
Citta was never accused of wrongdoing in that case, but his long association with Ritacco has continued to shadow his career. Critics also point to his close ties with longtime Ocean County Republican chairman George Gilmore, who was convicted of tax-related offenses in 2019 before receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump in 2021.
Those relationships, Rodrick’s allies argue, symbolize the “old guard” of Toms River politics that voters rejected when Rodrick was elected mayor last year on a reform platform. Supporters of Citta, however, say the attacks are politically motivated and that his professional record should stand on its own.
Ethics, politics, and a district in turmoil
The feud has reached nearly every corner of the district’s leadership. The School Ethics Commission continues to review multiple complaints related to the contract dispute, while the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has acknowledged receiving Toscano’s letter. The Board of Education remains deeply divided, with several members refusing to attend meetings amid ongoing tension.
Meanwhile, the district itself is facing serious fiscal challenges. State aid reductions under the S-2 school funding formula have cost Toms River tens of millions of dollars in recent years, forcing layoffs, larger class sizes, and reductions in student programs.
For now, Citta remains superintendent, but his contract remains unresolved, and the specter of litigation looms. His attorney’s threat of a tort claim suggests that the superintendent may sue if he believes his authority or reputation has been unlawfully undermined.
Mayor Rodrick appears unfazed. “Let him sue,” Rodrick said. “I’ll continue to speak up for the taxpayers who pay the bills.”
With the state ethics commission standing firm against his raise and the township’s mayor openly opposing him, Citta’s once-strong hold on the district appears shaken. What began as a personnel matter has evolved into a test of political power in Ocean County — pitting a veteran school administrator tied to the county’s oldguard and criminally convicted political establishment against a populist mayor positioning himself as a reformer.
The outcome may shape not only the future of Toms River Regional Schools but also the political balance of Ocean County itself.