Camden Schools superintendent calls for embattled advisory board president Wasim Muhammad to resign

Camden School Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs and acting state Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer on Thursday joined the growing calls for embattled advisory board president Wasim Muhammad to step down.

McCombs broke months of silence about the controversy in a letter to the community saying “it would be in the best interest of the state-operated district of Camden City for Advisory Board President Wasim Muhammad to voluntarily relinquish his seat.”

Gov. Phil Murphy has called on Muhammad to resign, too, citing the “appalling and heinous nature of the allegations,” and through a spokesperson, he thanked McCombs Thursday for her letter. Community activists also called for Muhammad to resign after he was accused of sexual assault by a former student in a civil case that was settled in June. He took a leave of absence in January while the case was pending.

McCombs appeared increasingly uncomfortable sitting next to Muhammad after his return to the board in August. The two did not speak during contentious meetings disrupted by protests, and the board adjourned without conducting much business. Protesters have vowed to disrupt future meetings as long as Muhammad remains.

“It is important that the business of the district proceeds without further disruption,” McCombs wrote in a one-page statement. “Our students, staff, and families deserve nothing less.”

As the lawsuit made national headlines a few months ago, McCombs disclosed that she had experienced sexual assault as a child and found the Muhammad allegations “triggering.” She sent an email to staff last week urging anyone affected to seek employee counseling assistance.

Muhammad, 56, could not immediately be reached for comment. He has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer, Troy Archie, said Muhammad, a Muslim minister and community activist, has no plans to resign.

“My client’s position remains steadfast,” Archie said Thursday. “He will continue as board president and continue to do the good work he has done for the last 10 years.”

» READ MORE: Who is Wasim Muhammad, Camden’s school board president accused of sexually abusing a student?

McCombs and Muhammad were classmates at Camden High where Muhammad played on the school’s 1986 undefeated championship basketball team with Mayor Victor Carstarphen. A spokesman for the mayor did not respond to a message. Carstarphen, in a 2022 interview, called Muhammad “my guy.”

The call by McCombs was welcomed by community activists.

“The pressure was mounting from the community. She had to do what was right,” said activist Vida Neil, who has led the protests.

Dehmer’s own call for Muhammad to resign on Thursday was his first time weighing in publicly on the issue.

“I firmly believe that the Camden community deserves to start the school year focused on providing excellent educational opportunities for their students rather than focused on unnecessary and harmful distractions,” Dehmer said.

A six-member jury in May found that Muhammad, formerly known as Donnie Walker, had not sexually abused his former student, Salema Robinson, but “recklessly or intentionally committed extreme and outrageous conduct” upon her. Robinson alleged that the abuse began when she was 14; Muhammad was her social studies teacher at Cooper B. Hatch Middle School.

Robinson, 45, was awarded $1.6 million, which was increased to $2 million under a later settlement between her, Muhammad, and the school district. She has also called for Muhammad to resign. The case has cost the district more than $800,000 in legal fees.

Robinson’s attorney, Jeffrey Fritz, called McCombs’ letter supporting Muhammad’s resignation a positive move.

The jury held Muhammad and the district liable for counts including “willful misconduct” and negligence in supervising Muhammad, and for permitting “a sexually hostile educational environment.” The verdict did not offer insight into its findings.

Among her allegations, Robinson told the jury that she engaged in a threesome with Muhammad and one of his wives and that he took Robinson to a porn theater and forced her to have sex with a stranger while he watched and masturbated.

» READ MORE: Hear what Salema Hicks Robinson has to say about the civil sex abuse lawsuit she filed, what she’s lost and how she’s triumphed

Muhammad denied the allegations during his testimony. He claimed that he married Robinson when she turned 18. He said he is married to his childhood sweetheart and has four more wives under his Islamic faith. Robinson said the two were never married.

Robinson filed the lawsuit in 2021 under a state law passed in 2019 that allows victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers up until they turn 55. She was initially identified in the case as “Jane Doe,” but decided to come forward after the verdict to encourage other victims to speak up.

Muhammad has served on the nine-member school advisory board since 2013 and has been president since 2020. Because the district is under a state takeover, the board serves in an advisory role only, without any authority.

A petition drive has been launched by Camden resident and activist Elton Custis to force Muhammad’s ouster. A former board member last week also announced plans to start a recall effort to ask voters to remove him from office.

“It is good to finally see the superintendent echoing the words of the community,” Custis said. “ … We will keep coming out and stepping up for we are Fed up and Fired Up!”