Anonymous Submission to Jersey Counter-Info
On Monday August 29, 2022 the Neptune Township school district held a regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting at Neptune High School. While there were other topics discussed, the main item on the agenda was discussion regarding the reinstatement of district Vice President Michael Smurro. Smurro and his wife Lisa went viral in 2021 for committing a hate crime against a trans woman in South Jersey, and had been on an extended leave of absence from his job in the Neptune Township school district after public outcry.
It seems as the dust settled from the year prior, the school district worked behind the scenes to hash out what to do with Smurro, and the school board initially pushed for Smurro to be fired from the district. The assigned arbitrator in the case, Barbara C. Deinhardt, however rallied for Smurro’s reinstatement stating that he was simply “defending” his wife and therefore there was no proof he was transphobic. Deinhardt’s assertion is false and deeply rooted in transphobia, more specifically transmisogyny. Lisa Smurro attempted to attack a trans woman over using the women’s bathroom, a particularly vile weaponization of “trans bathroom panic”, and viciously targeted her in public in an attempt to galvanize a transphobic mob against her. Lisa’s efforts thankfully were not successful, but Michael Smurro made a calculated decision to help his wife commit a hate crime and knew exactly what he was doing when he threw his beer at the trans woman and people supporting her.
Roughly two dozen people showed up to contest the decision to reinstate Smurro and included trans and queer people, antifascists, and cis-het accomplices. Additionally, there were several christian right wing transphobes in attendance who were tracked and monitored throughout the duration of the meeting. Right out the gate, the Board of Education addressed those in attendance and made it clear that Michael Smurro was (quietly) reinstated in mid August and that the decision was final.
Several trans and queer people spoke during the public comment section. At one point, when a trans woman was speaking about her horrific experience during high school and the larger threat of violence faced by trans youth, a small group of the christian right wing in attendance got up and left the meeting unceremoniously. It was clear through the mass of support of behalf of trans people and this trans woman’s power and anger that they were clearly outnumbered and wouldn’t be given an inch.
While the majority of the queer people that spoke demanded that Smurro be fired, a few queer speakers did not reflect the same sentiment, and instead chose to “forgive”, “love”, and respect the decision that those in authority made to keep him in power. It’s obvious that queer people are not a monolith and it would be queerphobic to assume that everyone has the same opinions or are politically aligned towards a specific tendency. That being said however, the particular sentiments expressed by the few queer people who chose to “forgive and love” Smurro do not reflect the reality of the situation and reeks of liberalism. All the forgiveness and love in the world will not change the fact Smurro is a violent transphobe in a position of power over trans kids and adults and it certainly won’t make those in power do anything to stop Smurro.
By the end of the meeting, the Board of Education made it clear that they supported Smurro’s reinstatement and would stand by him, no matter if they personally agreed with or not. Pressure must still be put on the school district and board of education to fire Smurro and the public must be made aware of the danger that he and his wife Lisa pose to the community. It is only a matter of time before Smurro uses his position of power at Neptune Township Schools to harm a trans or queer adult or child. He must be stripped of his position of power and be held accountable for his actions against trans people.
