At a heated hearing, a fired Cherry Hill administrator said the district retaliated against him

A fired Cherry Hill school administrator spoke out Monday, alleging he was retaliated against for raising concerns about administrative shortcomings at Cherry Hill High School East.

During a school board hearing on his employment status, former assistant principal David Francis-Maurer said he’d raised concerns about homophobic discrimination and the school’s failure to address student safety concerns.

But the hearing ended with the board declining to reconsider Francis-Maurer’s termination — a move that frustrated students and parents who packed the meeting to support him.

The Cherry Hill School District did not respond to requests for comment.

Francis-Maurer, known affectionately among students and parents as “DFM,” was hired in 2023 to serve as an assistant principal for East’s incoming ninth-grade class. In May, the school district notified Francis-Maurer that his contract would not be renewed for the following year and placed him on administrative leave. The next week, hundreds of students walked out during a demonstration protesting Francis-Maurer’s nonrenewal, and a student-initiated petition garnered 700 signatures.

» READ MORE: A Cherry Hill assistant principal’s contract was not renewed. His students walked out of class in protest.

Under New Jersey state law, a staff member slated for nonrenewal is allowed to request a Donaldson hearing, or an informal appearance in front of the school board during which they can make their case for renewal. At the Donaldson hearing, the board can, but is not required to, vote to renew the staff member, reversing the recommendation made by the administration. Donaldson hearings can be held in private or public. Francis-Maurer’s legal team requested Monday’s hearing be held in public.

“Much of what I experienced hasn’t been visible to others,” Francis-Maurer said, addressing the school board. “When I continued to greet students every morning with a smile and a fist bump, ensuring that the more than 1,000 students arriving on 40 buses felt seen and welcomed, behind the scenes, I was actively marginalized and retaliated against for raising concerns that I believed that student safety, staff well-being, and professional standards [were] at risk.”

Francis-Maurer, who is gay, said he was told repeatedly to “leave [his] identities at the door” and that he was “too present in the building” when his car was regularly the first in the parking lot.

After voicing concerns about district policy, Francis-Maurer said he was “shouted at” and his employment was threatened. In February, he submitted a six-page complaint to Superintendent Kwame Morton alleging the school had failed to follow drug testing protocols, respond to students expressing suicidal ideation, and support medically vulnerable students on overnight trips. The complaint also detailed “identity-based comments” made toward Francis-Maurer.

A day after submitting the complaint, Francis-Maurer said his performance review was hastily moved up from November to February and, when he received the review, “its content bore little resemblance to any of the prior evaluations.”

Francis-Maurer said his February complaint was initially acknowledged by the district, and he participated in an investigation, submitting pages of supporting evidence and speaking to an external investigator alongside a representative from the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. Francis-Maurer said he was never updated on the status of the investigation.

On May 13, the district notified Francis-Maurer that his contract would not be renewed. Shortly after, he was placed on administrative leave and instructed not to return to the building.

The district cited “lack of professional communication and collaboration with colleagues and supervisors,” “response to feedback,” and “failure to complete certain professional responsibilities, specifically evaluations and supervision of staff” as the reasons for Francis-Maurer’s nonrenewal.

Members of the school board declined to ask follow-up questions during Monday’s meeting or bring a motion on Francis-Maurer’s contract. After the meeting, students, parents, and attorneys representing Francis-Maurer poured out into the hallway, buzzing with confusion over the abrupt conclusion.

New Jersey policy dictates that if the board does not take a vote at the hearing, the decision to not renew the staff member’s contract stands.

“It’s extremely disappointing that after all that, the board didn’t even feel the need to acknowledge any of the issues that were raised, acknowledge the support that he had,” Armen McOmber, an attorney representing Francis-Maurer, said. “They basically made no comment and, in essence, terminated him and rubber-stamped the superintendent and the principal.”

At the hearing, nearly a dozen students spoke in support of Francis-Maurer, as well as one parent. The school board limited public comment to a total of 30 minutes.

Melissa Freedman, the only parent to speak, criticized the board’s lack of transparency, saying that the 4 p.m. Monday meeting made it nearly impossible for most working parents to appear.

Leah Molavi, a student at East who organized the walkout, said, “Right now, the entire Cherry Hill community has their eyes on this hearing. They have their eyes on DFM, and they have their eyes on you.”