The South Plainfield (N.J.) School District’s former athletic director has filed a lawsuit against the district and a member of its board of education, claiming she was demoted after reporting the "unethical conduct" of the BOE member.
As reported by Victoria Caruso of TAPinto South Plainfield, Tammy Zurka alleges that she was the victim of "retaliation" and "fabricated negative reviews" followed by her demotion. She states in the multi-count claim filed with Middlesex County Superior Court that she was "ousted from her position as athletic director because she objected to/failed to participate in the defendant’s plans to terminate" Don Pazarella who served as South Plainfield High School’s varsity softball coach at the time.
The South Plainfield (N.J.) School District’s former athletic director has filed a lawsuit against the district and a member of its board of education, claiming she was demoted after reporting the "unethical conduct" of the BOE member.
As reported by Victoria Caruso of TAPinto South Plainfield, Tammy Zurka alleges that she was the victim of "retaliation" and "fabricated negative reviews" followed by her demotion. She states in the multi-count claim filed with Middlesex County Superior Court that she was "ousted from her position as athletic director because she objected to/failed to participate in the defendant’s plans to terminate" Don Pazarella who served as South Plainfield High School’s varsity softball coach at the time.
Zurka alleges that she began receiving complaints from BOE member Doug Chapman and his wife Michelle regarding their daughter’s playing time on the team in spring 2024 and that the defendants "expressed dissatisfaction" over Panzarella. Zurka says she discussed Chapman’s "unethical behavior …" with superintendent Noreen Tansey, Caruso reported.
In her lawsuit, Zurka alleges that the termination of her employment as athletic director is a violation of the Conscientious Employee Protection Act and that the defendant’s actions to "secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for their children" are a violation of the School Ethics Act.Â
According to the lawsuit, Zurka claims that on April 15, 2024, she received an email from the Chapmans with "unfounded complaints" about Panzarella and that she forwarded said email to SPHS principal John Foscolo. The district admits an email was received and forwarded but, in their legal response, states said email was sent by Chapman’s wife. Zurka also claims that, on or around April 16, 2024, the Chapmans "verbally berated" her during a phone call, telling her "all of this can go away if you just fire the softball coach."  The school district admits a telephone call took place but denies all other allegations.Â
Additionally, per Caruso's reporting, Zurka alleges that, on April 17, 2024, Foscolo informed her that she would "not be renewed" for the athletic director position under the justification that she was not demonstrating "enough growth" despite performance reviews suggesting otherwise. She claims superintendent Nora Tansey informed her that she was being demoted back to a physical education teacher and that Tansey "forced" her to resign, suggesting she use her father’s cancer diagnosis as the basis of her resignation.
According to Caruso, the district denied the aforementioned allegations along with Zurka’s claims that Foscolo "uploaded" an unfavorable performance review into her file on April 18, 2024, and "backdated the document" to April 16, 2024. Zurka claims the review references an "observation" from that day that "never happened" and that by doing this, the district attempted to "craft the narrative that [she] had negative performance reviews in line with her unlawful termination."
In their legal response, the district states that it is "not possible to backdate an evaluation document" in its Genesis SchoolFi program, and that "...Foscolo started to draft Zurka’s 2023-2024 annual evaluation document" on April 16. According to the district, the date an evaluation is started is automatically stamped on the top right-hand corner of the document with Zurka’s evaluation made "viewable" on April 18.
Zurka, a physical education teacher with the district since 2000 who was appointed athletic director in July 2022 and therefore not yet tenured in the position, submitted her resignation on April 26, 2024, Caruso reported. In the court documents, she states it was "forced" upon her "because the alternative was a non-renewal." Â The following month, Panzarella also resigned, the longtime coach citing the "current climate" as underlying reasons.Â
“It is clear that I have been put into a situation where a very small faction of people, led by a parent of a player who is a Board of Education member, are being permitted to make false claims and place me in a false light,” Panzarella, who coached for the district for over 40 years and has a field named in his honor, said in a statement, as reported by TAPinto South Plainfield. “[T]here became too many personal, individual parent agendas, which had a negative effect on the team creating a very difficult atmosphere. It becomes even more difficult when parents disguise playing time complaints as other complaints to get the attention of the administration, which is simply wrong.”
