MANALAPAN – When students return to Manalapan High School in a few weeks, there will be a familiar face in the building, but that person is not a faculty member.
Just 18 months after he retired as Manalapan’s police chief, Chris Marsala will return to work in the Manalapan Police Department as a part-time Class III Special Law Enforcement Officer assigned to the high school.
The Township Committee passed a resolution at its Aug. 9 meeting hiring Marsala as a Class III officer, which is a category of retired law enforcement personnel recently created by a state law with the purpose of placing these individuals in schools.
The township and the Freehold Regional High School District will enter a shared services agreement to place Marsala in the high school. A Class III officer in Manalapan will be paid $20 per hour, according to the resolution.
According to the ordinance that created the position, a Class III officer “will be authorized to exercise full powers and duties similar to those of a permanent, regularly appointed full-time police officer while providing security at a public or nonpublic school on the school premises during hours when it is occupied by public or nonpublic school students and their teachers.
“While on duty, a Class III officer may respond to offenses or emergencies off school grounds if they occur in the officer’s presence while traveling to a school facility. The use of a firearm by an officer of this class may be authorized only after the officer has been fully certified as successfully completing training …”
Commenting on Marsala’s hiring, Mayor Susan Cohen said, “I am delighted that a 25-year veteran of the police department and a lifelong resident of Manalapan has agreed to return to the department to continue serving our community, protecting the citizens. (Marsala) will be used to ensure the safety of the students and staff in our high school.”
Marsala, who is a lifelong resident of Manalapan, worked in the police department for more than 25 years. He served as police chief from May 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016, when he retired. He was succeeded as police chief by Michael Fountain.
Cohen, Musich, Deputy Mayor Jack McNaboe, Committeeman David Kane and Committeeman Kevin Uniglicht voted yes on the resolution to hire Marsala.