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Image: Waldwick Public School District logo, via Wikipedia, Fair Use.
Three New Jersey school districts have paid about $1.49 million to settle six lawsuits accusing the same former educator of sexually abusing students over a period spanning roughly two decades, Hoodline.com reported.
The lawsuits involve Michael Healy, who worked in the Waldwick, Mahwah and South Orange-Maplewood school districts between the 1980s and 2000s and later served as an assistant principal.
Including a $25,000 contribution from Healy, the six settlements totaled approximately $1.515 million.
The settlement agreements were obtained through New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act and first reported by TransparencyNJ and NJ.com.
Allegations Against Healy Date Back to the 1980s
The earliest lawsuits involved Waldwick High School, where Healy worked as a substitute teacher and lunchroom monitor.
Former students alleged that Healy sexually abused them in school bathrooms during the 1980s.
Waldwick Public School District ultimately settled three lawsuits in 2024 for a combined $540,000. Healy contributed $25,000 toward those settlements.
Learn More About Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
Sexual abuse lawsuits may involve more than the person accused of misconduct. Schools and other institutions may also face claims when they are accused of ignoring warning signs, failing to supervise employees or allowing abuse to continue.
Learn more about how these cases work in our Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide.
Mahwah Case Involved High School Theater Program
Healy later worked with a theater program using facilities at Mahwah High School.
A former student alleged in a 2021 lawsuit that Healy sexually abused the student over several years while participating in theater productions.
Mahwah Township Public Schools settled one claim involving Healy in January 2025 for $425,000. Healy separately agreed to pay the district $10,000 while resolving related claims between himself and the district.
South Orange-Maplewood Settled Two More Claims
Healy also worked for the South Orange-Maplewood School District, including as an assistant principal at Columbia High School and South Orange Middle School.
A lawsuit filed in 2023 alleged that Healy sexually abused a male student between 1997 and 2003 and that the district failed to protect him.
South Orange-Maplewood settled that lawsuit for $500,000 in June 2026 and resolved another former student’s claim for $50,000 the same month.
New Jersey Law Allowed Older Abuse Claims to Move Forward
The lawsuits were filed after New Jersey enacted a major childhood sexual abuse reform law in 2019.
Senate Bill 477 created a temporary two-year revival window that allowed survivors to bring certain previously time-barred claims against alleged abusers and institutions.
The law also expanded potential liability for public entities such as school districts, making cases involving older allegations possible even when the alleged abuse occurred decades earlier.
New Jersey had also enacted its so-called “Pass the Trash” law in 2018, requiring schools to examine portions of an educator applicant’s prior employment history and restricting agreements that could conceal allegations of sexual misconduct.
The law was intended to make it harder for educators facing misconduct concerns to quietly move from one school district to another.
Settlements Raise Questions About Institutional Responsibility
The six cases illustrate why school sexual abuse lawsuits often focus on more than the conduct of an individual educator.
Claims can also examine whether administrators received earlier complaints, whether warning signs were documented and shared, and whether another district could have learned about an employee’s history before hiring them.
