Jay Eitner said he has applied for a job in Bayonne and hopes to move back to North Jersey.
WATERFORD TWP. -- While still on leave from his job as a superintendent of the Waterford Township School District, Jason "Jay" Eitner is applying for other employment.
Eitner, who has been on paid administrative leave since Oct. 19 and has had complaints filed against him by at least three teachers, said he has applied to be the superintendent of schools in Bayonne.
"As a father and progressive superintendent, I have a responsibility to not only provide for my family but pursue districts where I can make a positive difference with all learners," he said in an email Friday.
Dan Fox, the Waterford Schools' business administrator who has been serving as interim superintendent, said the district learned of the application to Bayonne, but not from Eitner.
The news came out in a Jersey Journal article that named Eitner among the 12 candidates being considered for the interim superintendent job in Bayonne, after the district opted not to renew the contract of current interim superintendent Patricia McGeehan.
However, Eitner said his application was for the permanent position, not the temporary one.
"I would love the opportunity to come into a district that has its unique challenges and help the students and staff move forward," he said.
McGeehan was paid a salary of $177,500, the Jersey Journal reported. Eitner last year had a salary of $135,000.
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The Waterford Township Board of Education has paid an investigative firm and then a conflict attorney to investigate grievances brought against Eitner in 2016, according to the Board of Education and public records.
Three of those who filed complaints, Deborah Borrelli, Daniel Bittner and Patricia Chiodi, have also complained to the state and notified the school of their intention to sue for damages of over $100,000 each.
They claimed in complaints that Eitner is ageist and harassed them due to their seniority and because they cooperated with investigators who were looking into other complaints against them.
Eitner has denied he is prejudiced against older teachers, but said he cannot respond to the specific allegations because of the ongoing litigation.
He has said that teachers and some Board of Education members are against him because they don't like his push for changes or his direct leadership style, something the teachers deny.
He acknowledged that he had the same experience with some teachers at Lower Alloways Creek Township School, where he previously worked as chief administrator for two years.
Borrelli said in her complaint that over two dozen teachers have filed grievances against him, but that cannot be verified because grievances are not public records. The three teachers' filings with the state that are now before the Office of Administrative Law are public records, however.
Borrelli accuses him of sexual harassment, Chiodi claims he revealed information from her personnel file, and Bittner alleges Eitner has harassed him about his age and tried to transfer him.
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Eitner maintains he has changed the district for the better.
"Due to immediate and long-term changes, the district test scores have risen by double digits, my budget last year was the lowest increase in over 27 years, and we've received national attention for all of the wonderful activities our students and staff are partaking in," he said.
The Board of Education first voted to put him on administrative leave for 60 days in October, then extended it until the end of December after a four-hour closed-door meeting Dec. 19.
The board voted Dec. 21 to keep him on leave until the end of February, and a board attorney said the members needed that time to "take certain action" that they had decided on in private session.
Eitner said that while he waits on the board's decision, he finds the prospect of working in North Jersey appealing. He is from North Jersey and spent most of his earlier career there.
"There were fantastic opportunities for me down here and I have been blessed to take them on and help all students and staff get what they're entitled to, regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds," he said. "That being said, my leadership style and pace has been very different from my predecessors and I've hit some roadblocks along the way. Now that my twins are older, we would like to move closer to our families back home."
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.