KENILWORTH, NJ — The Kenilworth school board has appointed an administrator from Millburn to succeed Thomas Tramaglini, the “super pooper” who resigned as superintendent after he was charged with defecating near the track and football field at Holmdel High School.
Kyle Arlington, who was unanimously approved at a special meeting on Dec. 17, will start in mid-February, according to a statement released by the Board of Education.
Arlington has served as the assistant superintendent in Millburn since 2015. He has also served as the assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, personnel and policy in the Vernon school district. Prior to that, he was a principal and a high school English teacher.
Arlington is also an adjunct professor at Montclair State University and Drew University.
“I’m excited to be part of the Kenilworth school community at-large,” Arlington said in the release. “I’m looking forward to capitalizing on all the great work already happening in Kenilworth and supporting teachers in their instructional practice and students in all aspects of their school experience.”
Tramaglini, who was living in Matawan, about 4.4 miles from the Holmdel athletic field, was charged May 1, with lewdness, littering and defecating in public.
Tramaglini’s arrest drew international attention and set off a flurry of internet headlines referring to a “mystery pooper” or “super pooper.”
Holmdel police Sgt. Theodore Sigismondi told LocalSource that the Holmdel school resource officer was alerted by the high school staff and coaches that they had been finding human feces on or near the high school track and football field “on a daily basis.” The school resource officer and school staff monitored the area and were reportedly able to identify “a subject responsible for the act,” he said.
Sigismondi said Tramaglini was “running at the time” when he was apprehended at about 5:50 a.m.
Tramaglini took a paid leave starting in May. The school board voted unanimously in August to accept his resignation effective Sept. 30.
He was to receive five months’ pay for the time between when he went on leave and his final day, according to a copy of the separation agreement obtained by LocalSource through an Open Public Record Act request.
Tramaglini, who had a yearly salary of $147,504 according to state records, was to receive a one-time payment of two months’ salary equaling $24,584. Additionally, he was to receive $23,827 for the 42 unused vacation days he accrued since he started at the position Feb. 16, 2016.
A spokeswoman in the Holmdel Municipal Court confirmed that Tramaglini pleaded guilty to a noncriminal municipal offense Wednesday, Oct. 24, and was to pay a $500 fine. She also confirmed that the charges of lewdness and littering had been dropped.
Matthew Adams, Tramaglini’s attorney, said he suffered from a type of bowel condition while running. Tramaglini was a competitive runner, according to published reports.
Marilyn Birnbaum, who was hired in a unanimous vote at the school board’s meeting Aug. 13, served as acting superintendent from Aug. 20 to Sept. 30, and as acting and interim superintendent since.
Arlington, a resident of Denville, holds a master’s degree from Caldwell College in Educational Administration, a second master’s from Montclair State College as a reading specialist and did his undergraduate work at Fordham University.
“The Board conducted an extensive search with 60 highly qualified candidates,” Board President Nancy Zimmerman said in the release. “We are very pleased to appoint Mr. Kyle Arlington to serve as Kenilworth’s new superintendent of schools. Mr. Arlington has an impressive background with great experience; he has a commitment to student achievement and has the skills the board was looking for in an educational leader. We look forward to having Mr. Arlington lead our district to greater academic achievement over the next four years and beyond.”
Arlington did not respond to an email and a phone message left for him at the Millburn board of education.