The East Brunswick Board of Education – complying with a vastly watered-down request from Central Jersey Sports Radio, at the district’s asking – has fulfilled its OPRA request, providing dozens of emails related to the unceremonious dismissal of Bears football coach Andy Steinfeld in July.

The emails shed some light on the process, but with redactions citing “deliberative process privilege,” “personnel records” and “attorney-client privilege,” they still leave many questions unanswered.

The main takeways include:

• St. Bart’s Buffalos President Chad Seyler questioned the Board’s posting for the football head coaching job, citing a lack of publicity over it to attract qualified candidates.
• Superintendent Dr. Victor Valeski saw Steinfeld’s retirement from teaching as an opportnity to re-evaluate the football program.
• The head football coach position was originally posted in February, with only four applicants, only one of whom – Steinfeld, himself – actually interviewed.
• Parents in the district expressed their concerns to school administrators and didn’t appreciate Steinfeld being let go just two weeks before preseason camp was to begin.

The main questions, however, still remain, including why the Board of Education didn’t seek a new coach relatively quickly after the season, as typically is the case, as well as why Selyer and Buffalos treasurer Dave Lonski were on the committee that re-interviewed Steinfeld, since they had no connection to – and no children involved in – any of the district’s football programs.

In an email dated July 29th, with the Subject “Confidential Board Updates,” Dr. Valeski updated the Board on multiple subjects, including the “Football Head Coach Vacancy.”

He wrote: “Andy Steinfeld retired from EBPS last school year. While coaching positions are never guaranteed, Andy’s action created an opportunity to make sure we had the best Head Coach candidate as we look to build our football program with Dr. Bucior as our new high school principal. The position was posted in February and we initially had four candidates. We established an interview committee with community membership and district leadership.”

The email then named all the members of the committee, which included Seyler, Lonski and Vito Tropeano – whose son graduated from East Brunswick the month before, in June, and played for Steinfeld his senior year after transferring back home from Elizabeth. Tropeano told Central Jersey Sports Radio earlier this fall he was in favor of Steinfeld being retained.

Also on the committee was Ed Bucior, the new East Brunswick High School Principal, as well as Athletic Director Frank Malta, director of HR Nicole Tibbets and Valesky.

Central Jersey Sports Radio initially reported those names earlier this month.

After mentioning that Steinfeld’s interview date was “shifted due to vacation conflicts,” he added that “as we got closer to the interdate [sic] date, three of the four candidates decided not to participate.”

The next nine lines of text in the first email are redacted, but Valeski followed by saying that the administrators on the panel agree that they should keep Matt Pazinko, previously an assistant, as interim head coach to have an “easier transition without a pause in the summer season with it being so close to our first game.”

Tibbets followed up asking about the three candidates who eventually did not interview for the position, saying “do you know what contributed to their decision or what their reason was for not moving forward?”

Valeski replied by indicating one of the candidates had “applied for the wrong job,” another got an offer elsewhere, while the third simply didn’t respond to a request for an interview, something he noted was “odd.”

Seyler appeared to address the issue of a lack of candidates weeks earlier, clearly unhappy about how the whole process was going. In an email dated July 19, he wrote to Valeski and Board of Education President Laurie Lachs: “Is this a joke. Closed application process with zero publicity. And I’m going to be a conspiracy guy here and think the other applicants might be the assistant coaches at Eb [sic] and they pulled out. Sent from my iPhone. Farce once again.”

Seyler asked Tibbets again via email, three days later, “Just a quick question. Why was the job opening application closed so quickly and not publicized? I know a few coaches that would have been interested but had no idea there was an opening.”

Tibbets replied that the position had been posted on February fifth, adding “It was open until we began scheduling interviews earlier this month.”

The job was never posted for publicly, however – only internally. Sources with knowledge of the situation told CJSR that Pazinko had initially been askes to hold down the fort as interim coach until they could post for the job publicly and make a permanent hire, having had no other internal candidates. When Pazinko refused, the sources said, the decision was made to retain him for the year.

But since coaches are on a one-year agreement in New Jersey – although State Assemblyman Benjie Wimblerly (D-Paterson) has a measure to change that – Pazinko would have to reapply for the job if he wishes to come back as East Brunswick football coach next year.

The Bears finished 2-7 this year, a slight improvement over the past two seasons under Steinfeld, with wins over Hamilton and South Brunswick. The Bears finished 1-9 last season, and 1-8 in 2022, but were 8-2 in 2021, coming off a COVID-shortened year that hurt many local programs, but apparently not as much in East Brunswick.

High school sports are often cyclical, and even longtime coach Marcus Borden – now an analyst for Central Jersey Sports Radio – had similar down years around his two state championships in 2004 and 2009. That included an 0-10 season in 2001, a 2-8 campaign in 2005 and a 1-9 season in 2011, after the second title. Borden spent 30 years as Bears’ head coach, retiring after the 2013 season – on his own accord – with a lifetime record of 142-131-1.

While Valeski’s desire to re-examine the football program is not without merit considering the team’s record over the past two seasons – a combined 2-17 during that span – typically that evaluation is done immediately after a season, with new coaches being hired in December, January and even as late as March.

When Joe LaSala left Woodbridge in March, even that was considered late in the game, and the coaching carousel hit several other schools, as South Brunswick’s Joe Goerge left to take the Barrons’ job, and Roselle’s Ibrahim Halsey left Roselle to coach the Vikings, with the Rams hiring Tyrone Turner.

On July 30th – the day Central Jersey Sports Radio broke the story of Steinfeld’s dismissal – Valeski wrote in an email ostensibly to the Board (though no “To” emails or names are shown in the files shared with CJSR): “I got word that our former Head Football Coach Andy Steinfeld is giving an interview to Central Jersey Sports Radio this afternoon. At this point, I do not intend to give remarks to the media on this issue. Andy was not fired. He fulfilled his contract and retired from the district.”

The night before, a parent of a football player – who asked that his name not be used when contacted by CJSR – wrote to Valeski after having attended a meeting with parents and players about Steinfeld’s dismissal, saying “Now that the players have been participating in voluntary workouts since the middle of June, we have had (2) 7 Vs 7 games and we are scheduled to hand out the gear this week, we now find out that our coach has not been hired for the 2024 season. I have a few questions concerning the decision that has been made at the 11th hour.”

Among the questions:

• “If there was no intention of hiring Coach Steinfeld back, why did we wait until now to make that decision? Since, he has already started planning for the 2024 season, including, but not limited to, team events, team dinners, meetings with the quarterback club, starting the push the limit fund raiser, just to name a few things that are already in motion at this point of the season.”
• “Since when are non-district staff/board members permitted to sit in on interviews, ask questions and provide feedback on district personnel decisions?”
• “Since there was a committee to conduct the interviews and provide recommendations, was this committee approved by the board?”
• “If there was a creation of a committee, why was no one that is currently involved in the football program invited to join such a committee? Considering the people that are part of this committee were people that currently do not have anyone involved in the High School/Middle School football programs.”

He also called the decision not to retain Steinfeld “completely unfair for everyone involved in the football program.” Reached by Central Jersey Sports Radio today, the parent said he never received as much as a word from Valeski even acknowledging his email.

Reached for an interview request on several occasions, the district said it could not comment on the matter, including questions about the interview and committee process and whether it followed district policy or New Jersey state law.

Ultimately, while Steinfeld says the main complaint from Seyler and Lonski during his interview were about the East Brunswick middle school program, which starting in 2022, had seventh graders playing with eighth graders. That program remains as is, just without Steinfeld as head coach.

So what changed from the winter and spring to July that necessitated a coaching change just two weeks before preseason practice got underway? The season was well over by then, there appear to have been no new developments to or complaints from parents to speak of, and the district never removed seventh graders from the program.

But there was one person missing. That’s Lou Figueroa, the assistant superintendent who was let go as a “cost-cutting measure” when the East Brunswick school district face a major budget shortfall. We spoke to him off-the-air in October, and while he couldn’t discuss any internal conversations, he had one stirring response to the whole situation: “This wouldn’t have happened on my watch.”

Figueroa is running for a seat on the Board of Education this November 5th, along with a slate of two other candidates, all seeking full three-year terms: his wife, Jennifer Figueroa, and Jamie Falco. Anna Braun is running on the same slate for a one-year unexpired term.

As far as actual football goes, should Pazinko not seek the head coaching job after this season, the East Brunswick students in the Bears football program will be playing for their third different head coach in three seasons.

When then-East Brunswick football coach Andy Steinfeld re-interviewed for his job in July, three “community members” were on the interview committee, but not all of them opposed the coach’s rehiring.

Multiple sources have told Central Jersey Sports Radio that those members included St. Bart’s Buffalos president Chad Seyler and treasurer Dave Lonski, as well as Vito Tropeano, Sr., whose son played quarterback for East Brunswick.

And reached this week after the names had been revealed to CJSR, Steinfeld says Tropeano was the only one of the three who had anything positive to say.

“He was pro-Andy Steinfeld,” the coach said this week. “He thanked me for what he did for his kid.”

Vito Tropeano, Jr., was in the East Brunswick program, then transferred to Elizabeth for his junior year, but came back to the Bears for his senior season, throwing for over 1,700 yards with 17 touchdowns. Steinfeld says he was able to help him draw interest from Wagner College on Staten Island, to which Tropeano signed a National Letter of Intent back in February.

Reached this week by Central Jersey Sports Radio, Tropeano – like Seyler, who we reached out to in July – said he couldn’t discuss the meeting, as he had signed a confidentiality agreement. But he did say he and his son had nothing but good experiences with Steinfeld, and confirmed the coach’s statement that he appreciated all Steinfeld had done for them.

Tropeano also was once involved in St. Bart’s youth sports programs, but hasn’t been for the last several years. But he was involved with their 2018 American Youth Football 12U national championship team. He saw himself as perhaps a bridge between the district and St. Bart’s, where Seyler had previously had conversations with the East Brunswick district about working together on the middle school football program.

Indeed, at a June 2022 Board of Education meeting, Seyler spoke during the public comment period, and said he had approached school officials three or four years prior to discuss a working agreement between the programs, but “nothing has ever came from that.” He said that in the immediate aftermath, there had been “zero communication” between the East Brunswick program and St. Bart’s about the issue.

Steinfeld was not rehired in late July, when all his other assistants were approved by the Board of Ed. Told he would have to re-interview for his position, soon after that interview he was told there were not enough votes to approve his hiring, though no vote was ever held.

Offensive Coordinator Matt Pazinko was named Interim Head Coach for the season.

“Andy takes great pride in the organization of the program.”

“He has a standard for his team when it comes to their behavior and character on the field and off.”

“His is respected by his peers and coaches.”

“Andy provides the high ethical and character skills that allow him to lead our student athletes the right way.”

Those comments seem ripped right out of a letter of recommendation for someone seeking a high school football coaching job.

But a little more than a month after receiving such high praise from East Brunswick Athletic Director Frank Malta – and despite such a glowing review – Andy Steinfeld found himself out as Bears head coach, prompting many in the township – including his own players and their parents – to wonder why.

Steinfeld was let go in late July after re-interviewing for his position, just two weeks before preseason camp. And Steinfeld says while he had the full support of Malta, the AD eventually had to break it to him that he didn’t have enough votes on the Board of Education to be approved as head coach.

In New Jersey, high school coaches must be approved for their job on an annual basis. And though Steinfeld says he never had to re-interview after any of his first four seasons, he assumed it was par for the course since he had retired in January after more than 23 years as a physical education teacher, and figured as football coach he’d be considered an “outside employee.” That interview took place on July 23rd. “I had no problem doing it,” Steinfeld told Central Jersey Sports Radio at the time.

Steinfeld was not informed ahead of time who he would be interviewing with. When he arrived, it turned out to be a seven-member committee he that included what he called three “community members” who were “against our program, bashed our program,” and had complaints about East Brunswick’s middle school football program.

There were no parents of any current East Brunswick football players on the committee, yet there were 52 players on the varsity roster for a game Central Jersey Sports Radio broadcast on September 27th at Old Bridge from which they committee could have selected.

The complaints from the community members, Steinfeld says, had nothing to do with wins and losses, treatment of players, or how the program is run. Steinfeld says their issues were that his expansion of the middle school football program to include seventh-graders was chipping away at the numbers in St. Bart’s own program.

Since then, multiple sources confirmed to Central Jersey Sports Radio the identities of those three community members.

They include Chad Seyler – the President of the St. Bart’s Buffalos – along with Dave Lonski, the organization’s treasurer. The third member was Vito Tropeano, Sr., whose son began his scholastic career with the East Brunswick high school football team, transferred to Elizabeth for one year, but returned to the Bears’ program for his senior campaign in 2023.

Seyler – reached for comment in July – declined to speak about the issue to Central Jersey Sports Radio, saying he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Steinfeld told CJSR recently he was never asked to sign such an agreement.

The revelations continue to prompt questions that, so far, have been unanswered by school officials in East Brunswick, including why those with outside and competing interests with the East Brunswick football program were allowed to have what appears to be an undue influence on the re-hiring of a football coach, and why the district waited so long to address them and head in a new coaching direction, especially when seventh graders remain on the middle school team to this day.

Typically, when districts let go of coaches – unless there are extenuating circumstances – it happens within a month or two after the season, to allow the new staff to work with and get familiar with players in the off-season.

The Board of Education was scheduled to vote in July on the entire coaching staff, and approved all of the Bears’ assistants at that meeting, but tabled the matter of Steinfeld pending the interview, meaning there was no chance for public comment after his re-hiring became a potential issue. No vote was ever held on the record about Steinfeld’s job status by the Board of Education.