Katrina McCombs calls on Wasim Muhammad to resign

A jury rejected the claim that Muhammad assaulted Robinson, but found Muhammad and the school district liable for “willful misconduct,” “negligence in supervising Muhammad,” and for allowing “a sexually hostile educational environment.”

The district reached a $2 million settlement with the plaintiff. Muhammad steadfastly refused to resign.

Antionette Miles, state director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, called McCombs' call “a critical moment for members of the Camden community,” adding, “It is long past time for Wasim Muhammad to resign from the Camden City School Board.”

“We applaud this step by the superintendent of schools, who has listened to the concerned residents, parents and students of the City of Camden by calling on Wasim Muhammad to resign from his seat on the school board,” she said. “Now the rest of the Camden School Board, the Mayor and members of the City Council must also support this call.”

Jeff Fritz, Robinson's attorney, said leaving it to Muhammad was “simply not enough.”

“While Superintendent McComb's request that Advisory Board President Muhammad voluntarily resign is a positive step, we believe the district and the superintendent have the power to terminate him immediately,” Fritz said. “They should terminate him immediately.”

According to Lester Taylor, the panel's attorney, neither the panel nor McCombs has the authority to fire Muhammad. A panel member can only be fired if he or she is convicted of a crime, misses three consecutive meetings or lives outside the district.

Acting Education Secretary Kevin Dehmer also called on Muhammed to resign. He said McCombs' testimony reinforced Gov. Phil Murphy's call for Muhammed's resignation earlier this year when the civil suit first became public.

“I firmly believe that the Camden community should begin the school year with a focus on providing excellent educational opportunities for its students, not with unnecessary and harmful distractions,” Dehmer said.

Maggie Garbarino, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said Murphy “continues to believe that [Muhammad] should resign.”

“The horrific and abhorrent allegations against Mr. Muhammad jeopardize his ability to effectively serve the Camden City School District,” she said.

Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen did not respond to a request for comment.