Statement of Dr. Jessica Alfone of the Middletown Township School District on the Erroneous Reporting of the Shore News Network
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2025
On March 3, 2025, the purported news media website shorenewsnetwork.com published a patently false article entitled “Middletown teacher who had sex with student allowed to resign with pension, health benefits.” The article was clearly intended to attack the district under the guise of being a credible media outlet.
The article alleged that Justin McGhee, who was arrested last month, was “allowed to resign with pension, health benefits.” The administration’s recommendation to the board to accept the resignation saves the district the expense of pursuing tenure charges and immediately suspends the benefits. Had the district moved forward with tenure charges, benefits would have remained in place during the lengthy proceedings. If Shore News Network exercised even a scintilla of journalism standards, it would have published the easily accessible fact that upon resigning, Mr. McGhee no longer receives District-provided health benefits. Moreover, he does not have the age or years of service to be eligible for a pension.
Further, any effort to act as real media rather than the politically-motivated attack engine of certain individuals would have also discovered that Mr. McGhee will face license revocation proceedings before the New Jersey State Board of Examiners.
The District will not tolerate patently false “reporting” intended to paint the District in a false light.
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