A
retiring superintendent in Monmouth County will speak at his districts’ graduation after voluntarily
being put on
administrative leave for not lifting the
schools’ mask mandate.
John
Marciante will give a speech next week to Manalapan eighth graders.
Once
Marciante was put on leave, the school board unanimously voted to make masks
optional inside school buildings.
With less than 30 days left in his career, Marciante asked to be
suspended rather than put kids and staff in the middle of what he says are
parents wanting to defy state mask mandates.
During a heated board meeting,
Marciante wanted to strictly follow CDC and state mandates, which means masks
on inside the mostly air-conditioned schools. Parents objected, and due to
concerns of staff and students getting caught in the middle, Marciante told the
board to put him on leave, transferring power to the board to side with the
parents.