Freund out as Warren Hills athletic director

Clegg "Buddy" Freund is no longer the athletic director after a very short term at Warren Hills Regional High School. Reportedly, Freund was escorted from school grounds at some point last week for reasons that have not been made public.

According to several sources, Freund violated a school conduct policy and was summoned to the district office where he was told to leave campus. He was only permitted to have a few personal items from his office and wasn't allowed to enter the building while those were collected for him.

Phone calls to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Altonjy and Principal Chip Clymer seeking comment were not returned. Altonjy issued a news release to one media outlet only, stating that Freund "resigned for health reasons effective Oct. 3."

The school board accepted his resignation during Tuesday's regularly scheduled meeting.

In fact, no one is talking at the school, including board members. The situation has remained very tight-lipped in-house. However, several sources are confirming that Freund has not returned to school grounds since being removed and that Clymer is the acting AD until a replacement can be found. Longtime secretary Joan Duryea has also helped fill that role in the interim.

Freund was hired in December of 2010 to replace former longtime AD Nick Holgash, who retired in October of that same year after serving in that capacity since 1995. Freund was the former AD at both Roxbury and Belvidere before coming to the Washington school. He was hired at Warren Hills despite tremendous community support for former football coach Bob Lockhart, who had served as the assistant AD for two years. Lockhart was long considered the leading candidate to succeed Holgash.

Freund was involved in a much-publicized scandal during his tenure at Roxbury. In 2003, five wrestlers at the school were in involved in a locker room sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl. Principal Joseph Tooey, former wrestling coach Todd Milsom, a guidance counselor and Freund were accused by state athletic officials of covering up the incident in an effort to protect the team.

After an investigation by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Association, Roxbury's wrestling team was stripped of its 2003 District 2 championship for failing to immediately inform police and suspend the wrestlers involved. An NJSIAA report called Freund's conduct "negligent." Roxbury officials reported the case to police two months after the Feb. 26, 2003, incident.

The NJSIAA also slapped $500 fines on the district, the now-retired Tooey and Freund. Four of the wrestlers accepted plea deals in January 2004, admitting their roles in the assault. Charges against a fifth were dismissed when he agreed to cooperate.

The Roxbury school board abolished the athletic director position in May 2004 and denied the administrative change was in response to the assault.

Upon his hiring at Belvidere, Freund said: "I think they will find I'm a person of character and integrity. One of my strengths is building positive relationships with people and a strong  work ethic."

Belvidere superintendent Dirk Swaneveld said that Freund was issue-free during his tenure from 2005-10 as the school's AD.

"He was here for a little over [five] years and left here in good standing," Swaneveld said. "We were actually sorry to see him go. He was professional at all times on all levels."