Wow!

Welcome to NJ, the SOPRANO state.... keep paying those Taxes folks .. These guys need their PENSION $, chop chop.....

Does this have anything to do with the rapid and unforeseen resignation of Laurie Cannon last week?

This guy took off for 6 months at the end of his term and still had $400,000 worth of sick time?
And everyone wonders why we are broke.

Hmmm and to think, less than 2 years ago West Belmar school was on the chopping block to save a mere $1million. Mr. Habel of course leading the charge.

I'm in the wrong business. Whoever said crime doesnt pay was high on dope! Here's another perfect example, a la Ritacco...
Are any school system's hiring??

Never takes a day off for 11 years and maintains a honme inFlorida where his wife lives. How did he manage that? Must be MAGICIAN. The Board of Education which he reports to should be investigated. how could they let him gt away with that?

That's why N.J. homeowners are paying ridiculously high taxes to pay these crooks. Their salaries are totally out of line. And then they rob us to boot on top of that. Hang them!

wow

Well, I hope this sends a message to our Governor who constantly attacks the teachers of our state. These Superintendents are all crooks. The Governor needs to stop supporting the interim Superintendents salaries at $600 plus a day. The focus is misplaced.

I hope the prosecutor's office subpoenas his credit cards, phone records, airline manifests, tax returns, business dealings, etc. There's a treasure trove of wrongdoing here. And WE are paying for it.

Apparently there is a Truant Officer for Superintendents.

If Habel is guilty and sent to prison, wouldn't it be nice if he could share a cell with Ritacco? Then they could do to each other what they have been doing to taxpayers all these years!

Habel is a pathetic piece of garbage and hopefully he will get what he deserves!
Now we should all be keeping our eye on the NEW guy, Mr. Simon. Let's hope he will do something for our declining school system! Mr. Simon, PLEASE start doing what is BEST for our kids!! Hopefully you won't be another "Habel". Our children deserve better!!!!!

This crook NEVER took a day off ?? He was never sick ?? Come on , it's so blatant . Couldn't he have taken a few days off a year so at least he tried to make it look real. Such arrogance , taking us for pure fools. And so far he is right , he got the money and we are fools and suckers

Hanel and the BOE took their sweet time negotiating with the teachers...for Over two years.... Didn't want to budge... And everyone was annoyed at the teachers...they were not the ones who were demanding unreasonable requests... It was the puppets Habel had control over who refused to settle the contracts. And who was padding his retirement? Shame on the BOE! Nice black mark on Wall!

I live in Howell and grew up in Wall. if you care, you must go to the BOE meetings, ask the hard questions directly to the board and demand answers. Without the facts you should not make any public comments based on your feelings. Your BOE is the boss of your administration and your teachers. Tell them what you want. Press hard to make changes for the good of the community. Stand up and be heard!

Not Lily White Wall.Wake up and smell the roses. it is a town full of corruption from the school system to the police department ,etc.Yes welcome to the town of corruption,and kept under cover.Bail out when you can. Moved out in 2006 and never regretted it. Where does all the taxpayer's money go?I feel so sorry for the residents there. They always kept us with blinders on and lies.

Kathleen, I totally agree, All these supporters that come out to support these idiots deserve what ever they get. Wake up and smell the roses.

why is it so many other lower paid government workers have the "use it or lose it' for vacation and personal but the higher paid ones can get away with this??????

Lastly Habel is worse than a piece of garbage.

this goes back to Jack Hahn, too...the previous business administrator, who conveniently retired BEFORE he was 55 and continued receiving his salary and receive his pension...hmmm...and NO ONE ASKED ANY QUESTIONS???? Wall has been corrupt for years...Brian Smyth is no good, either!!!

Habel had to have people who were covering his back.

Well folks, he's lawyered up now. Robert Honecker, ex-assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor. So if found guilty or not he'll be paying threw the nose for his arrogance. He wasn't so bad in te beginning, Just goes to show you " Absolute power corrupts absolutely". Somebody let the fox in the hen house .

The only ones over a Supt are the BOE. The Busines Administrater handles all the $. He'll be next to be questioned if he hasn't already.

Sorry. I mean't, Too many Strange Bed Fellows if you ask me.

Does anybody know the answer to this question? Do administrators have to take vacation days when the district is closed,for example...Xmas break, winter break, spring break? Or do they have off as well? Curious!! Thanks.

If they do have off, why in the heck would they get more than 10 to 15 vacation days? And better yet...why would they be able to keep unused days? Everywhere else it is use it or lose it...that is the way it is for me. And they make as much if not more than I do. WTF!!

I think you are all forgetting that the man got off for Teachers Convention, Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, February break, and all the other holiday days the educators and administrators get. Why would he possibly need to use his vacation days? I'm not sure why he needed to be given vacation days on top of all the other days he got off for breaks and holidays, but that was the contract he was given. Also, why doesn't everyone stop condemning this man before you even know what he's being charged with. I don't know the man or much about him, so my comments are not meant to support him or not support him, but last time I checked, in this Country, you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Some of you people are already burning him at the stake, and you don't even know what he's being accused of. Your attacks are vicious!

Maybe because they really know what this man is capable of and how he operates. Maybe because they had dealings with him and know he is an arrogant slime that got away with crap he should not have. Maybe he treated many unfairly when he was the ruler with the iron fist.

I have been doing some investigative reading on state websites...not easy by the way...very confusing. The way it reads...Superintendants, Business Andministrators and Asst Sups have their own separate contracts and have very specific guidelines. Hence salary, vacation and sick day accruel, and some specifics on benefits in general. These were put into place by Christie about three years ago in response to the recent economy meltdown and the big payouts when top administrators leave. Remember the Keyport or Hazlet Super. That event started the reforms. What I believe to understand, these new rules do not apply to other Administrators,I.e. Principals, Asst Principals, and Supervisors. These admin have their own Union and are protected by their negotiated contracts. Not sure, but I believe they are being negotiated right now...the teachers as well. The current BOE needs to be transparent with these contracts with the tax layers and make sure they are not able to carry over vacation and sick days to be paid out at a later date. Ridiculous!! This practice has to stop. Period!!

As we can all see now...these people work behind close doors. None of these people want to talk in the open. The less people involved in their contracts the better. The tax payees need to take control back. Wolves in sheep clothing. I agree with Gee...they are all for themselves, not the kids. Wall has gone down hill. The town sure needs leadership. Anne Marie conte was a BOE member when Hable got that contract. I'll bet she is hanging low right now.

Wall Township needs to be investigated like all the other districts should be. This corruption has become a common practice. I am tired of everyone saying the same thing. Politics and corruption are happening everywhere. It is like to bad, just except it because nothing is going to change. Why? Why can't it change. How come we can get individuals to do what is right.

He gets away with it because he pretends to go on Professional Development Workshops. He never documents that he attended and/or provided a certificate of attendance from the workshop. We should look at his frequent flier miles with Spirit airlines and see how many times he took off to go to Florida. Or maybe we should find his real contract - the one he took out of his file and hid. Not the fake one he created to submit to the County Supers Office. He is a crook and I hope he gets what he deserves. What comes around goes around - Karma!

As I have spent time reading all these comments, I felt like I should add one too. I am a senior who lives in Wall, with a brother at WIS and a sister at MAST. I go to High Tech and have spent the last three years with Mr. Simon. Wall could not have chosen a better person to be their new superintendent. He is kind and smart and he actually cares about the students. I remember him walking through the halls between classes, greeting everyone - students and teachers alike - by name. At the end of last year, when we found out that he was leaving to come to Wall, we literally all cried. The teachers, the students, the parents - we were all going to miss his enthusiasm and his passion for his job. If you don't believe it, look at High Tech's records from the years he was our principal - #1 in the state, #1 in the country for math and science. The students are incredibly smart but it takes a special type of person to encourage such excellent programs in our schools. It makes me sad to see all the suspicion that has fallen on Mr. Simon's shoulders because of who preceded him. Give him a chance to try and get Wall out of this hole we have dug ourselves into, but realize it WILL take a long time. Just consider yourselves lucky to have gotten someone who is willing to take on such a big challenge.

HTHSenior - thanks for sharing a few of Mr. Simon's achievements. I agree with you that he is highly respected by many people across our NJ. Unfortunately, if you look up the word "Superintendent" in the dictionary the definition has been replaced with the disgraceful mugshot of Michael Ritacco. Mr. Simon's entire profession is under attack in NJ because of the corrupt actions of Tom's River's high profile former superintendent, last week's raid on Dr. Habel's home and because of the hyper-focus the public now has on superintendent salaries, health & welfare benefits, pensions & separation payouts. BOEs approve these contracts which are funded by taxpayers, so taxpayers everywhere are demanding higher accountability. Disgusted parents & taxpayers in Wall are a little tense this week because no one hires a criminal defense attorney to a settle a vacation day dispute. Mr. Simon & the fact he was #1 in state & county for math & science is probably the superintendent the public should be applauding. Don't worry. If your assessment of Mr. Simon is correct, he won't be unfairly swept up into the Habel situation for very long. As people vent openly, Mr. Simon's actions & solutions inside these challenges will set him apart from those before him who put their own interests in front of kids. Your note above restored that kind of confidence today. Thank you.

@ Tom, Just look at some of problems in the schools in the last couple of years that has been in the media. Schools in this State and other states from North to South. Practically ever other day a story breaks about a Administrator, Teacher or Coach that crossed the line. The educational system has turned in to a disgrace and deserves to be bashed. I do feel sorry and bad for those educators who have ethics, works hard, leads their school on integrity, honesty. Basically doing what is right. Get rid of those who are not in the system for the right reasons. Sorry, not all teachers are equal. Who is kept is not always based on the best choice. It is by who you know and the reason there is so many problems. Some good Teachers and Coaches are not even given a chance and others are let go for all the wrong reasons. The BOE up and down this state need to be checked thoroughly, there needs to be more consequences for those who lack integrity, who does not do for all the students in the school system.

God works in mysterious ways, Karma is a B!tch and this guy is a crook, just like the other Supers named on the state report. Funny how the people that were named in that report are all getting investigated and going to jail.

Oh boy.... The Asbury Park Press 9/17/12 - A house call on 'poster boy'
5:55 AM, Sep 17, 2012 | Comments

Here we go again.

In a scene that is becoming sickeningly familiar to parents and taxpayers at the Jersey Shore, county prosecutors last week raided the home of former Wall schools Superintendent James F. Habel. In 2010, according to the state Department of Education, Habel’s additional pay that year beyond his base pay of $200,273 included $14,250 in allowances, $7,600 in stipends, $15,716 in extra insurance, and $49,932 for a pension annuity. His retirement payout at that point was to be $243,342. Habel received $309,330 for unused days upon his retirement.

In 2008, we branded Habel in an editorial as a poster boy for excess, noting, among a long list of perks he received, the free use of a GMC Denali sport-utility vehicle, which he was allowed to fill with up to 150 gallons of gasoline per month.

My name is John Habel and James Habel is my brother. My brother and I have not spoken for a long time and he, in my opinion has a lot of faults. However,as much I hate to admit it, is a driven and commited leader. When my brother was fresh out of school he substituted in my high school and unfortunately for me was my wrestling and football coach. He showed no favoritism for me, in fact, he was much more driven for me to succeed. To this day, 30 years after the fact, I am still approached with,"how is coach?"," Coach made me what I am.", "your brother changed my life". A lot of us on his team went on to success and we thank him for it. He taught me so much and i would not be the father and man I am today. He was always driven and hard working. Our brother in law was African-american and he he always lamented to him how hard it was to to reach the disposessed. My brother kept faith with the contract he was given. Give him a break.Go ahead and flame me, But my brother Jimmyis a good guy>

Hi, John. Thx for your note. For some of us out here - it's not about your bother's negotiated Employment Contract. AND okay - I admit it - former Superintendent Michael Ritaccio has NJ taxpayers who love kids seeing everything through the sunglasses we are forced to wear ever since they uncovered the glare of the millions of dollars in transactions that changed hands when he built HIS former Ritaccio Athletic Center in Tom's River. He was just sentenced to prison for a very long time and I blame a lot of people in Tom's River for setting the interests of TR kids back ten years. Having said that, I will apologize to you & your entire family if my concerns are overstated here AFTER this all goes away as a big misunderstanding, Also people I've known for over 40 years who worked very closely with your brother are under scrutiny too. Beyond employment & Superintendent-related contract issues, a freedom of info request revealed that the prosecutor's office also requested data related to payments made to your brother & your sister-in-law Eileen Sullivan (his wife) in FL and so people out here are asking, "What?" They also secured copies of the school system's vendor contracts, etc your brother was involved with and we're just out here asking, "Why? Then - You mentioned in your note that you and your Jimmy haven't spoken in a long time. What kind of great man stops talking to a younger brother who refers to him as his hero when no one is watching? I respect you.

My name is Jennifer Klahre and my login name was Wall Resident and I guess the way Wall Patch works many people can have that login name. Which there are 12 as of right now. So just to let everyone know I am not the "Wall Resident" that is saying hateful things on here. I have not commented on anything in over 6 months. I have deleted my login name Wall Resident because I do not want to be accused of saying anything that these other 12 Wall Residents on here. Last year I commented on something and was not afraid to put my real name. So being that I was the only one big enough to put my name on here I am now associated with all of the Wall Residents comments. So please leave me out of everything! I do not like hearing that my name is being said around the schools. I have two months and I will be done with Wall Schools! Thank you!