'An extraordinary leader': Former Linden schools chief Rocco Tomazic dies

Rocco G. Tomazic, who served as Linden’s superintendent of schools from 2009-13, and interim superintendent for the 2022-23 school year, died Saturday evening at the age of 72.

Tomazic served 28 years in education − 18 of them in Linden.

"Dr. Tomazic is a champion who tirelessly advocated for state funding in education − an extraordinary leader in the educational realm, leaving an indelible mark and being remembered by countless individuals," said Linden Mayor Derek Armstead.

And when needed, the Linden Board of Education turned to his familiar face to lead its schools. Tomazic came to Linden Public Schools as an ROTC instructor at Linden High School from 1996 to 1999, became vice principal at the high school for a year and was named assistant superintendent in 2002.

He was appointed superintendent in 2009 before leaving the district in 2013 to become the superintendent in Freehold where he served until September 2021.

He also served as interim superintendent for the Monmouth Beach School District from April through August of 2022. In 2023, Tomazic returned to the Freehold Borough School District as its interim superintendent for five months.

Linden Superintendent Atiya Y. Perkins, who succeeded Tomazic in 2022, said he was her mentor, "a great man and an exceptional leader."

"Personally and professionally, Rocky stood for accountability and excellence, and anything that he said was always backed by research and data," Perkins said. "And then what we all grew to love was his wittiness that came through the stories that he would tell. Having him as a mentor, a leader and a friend was a blessing."

Perkins said Tomazic’s legacy will endure in Linden because he had such a hand in the formation of the district's current school personnel, from maintenance to administration and every department in between.

"He was always there, applauding us, teaching us,” she said. “He was admired by so many. I truly believe that his legacy will live through us because we want to aspire to lead and to model what he imparted in us, and that was excellence and accountability and transparency."

Known as a champion who fought for state funding, Tomazic's legacy worked tirelessly for the districts he served and the children he oversaw.

In 2017, he was honored as a civil rights leader by the Latino Action Network in New Jersey for his work lobbying to increase state aid.

"We have a mission to handle the educational needs of all our students, and all means every one of them," Tomazic said in accepting his award. "I'll take this award with that in mind, and we'll continue to fight until we have everything that everybody else does."

Tomazic graduated from Bowling Green University in 1974 with a degree in speech. After joining the U.S. Navy, he found himself in Japan and Italy. His first teaching job was at a NATO base in Naples, Italy, through a University of Maryland program.

It was when Tomazic retired from the Navy in 1996 as a Commander that he first came to the city to teach the Navy Junior ROTC at Linden High School.

Former district student, Linden High School NJROTC member and current member of the U.S. Navy Marcin Przemyslaw said in a Facebook post that Tomazic's "students may not share his name but we are his legacy."

"The man taught us what it truly meant to wear the uniform and how to carry ourselves both in and out of it, what it took to succeed in life and did it all through personal example," Przemyslaw said. "His passion and drive was relentless and I modeled a lot of who I was after him. He started out as a teacher and hall walker, he turned around a ROTC program and made us into a championship drill team, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a Vice Principal all the way up to Superintendent. He loved every student, every shipmate and most of all his family. I’m saddened but I’m also honored to have had the man as someone to look up to and while my sailors might now realize it, the good that came from me, was from him."

"Dr. Tomazic was an amazing person and an extraordinary instructional leader," Freehold Borough's Superintendent Asia Michael wrote in an email. "In the short time that I knew him, his passion for children, education, and his family was evident."

Visiting hours will be held at Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center St., Freehold, from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday. A private burial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be mailed to: Foreside Foundation, ATTN: Lisa Cote, 31 Village Lane, Biddeford, Maine, 04005 with “Tomazic Family Scholarship” in the memo line.

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Former Linden NJ schools superintendent Rocco Tomazic dies