TOMS RIVER - The regional school district has hired a private investigator to find out who leaked a sexual harassment complaint against Superintendent David M. Healy to the Asbury Park Press and other media outlets over the summer.

A Press reporter was contacted by email on Monday evening by James Dierking, a private investigator with DAR Associates of Beachwood.

In the email, Dierking wrote that his company had been retained by the Board of Education to investigate the source of the disclosures.

"I am waiting to hear from a few others but expect to be in Toms River on Thursday, September 28, 2017," Dierking wrote. "Each interview will be brief. I would plan for fifteen to twenty minutes at a maximum. We are trying to get our interviews done on a timely basis so your cooperation is appreciated."

The Press has declined to cooperate with the school district's investigation.

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In response to a written inquiry from The Press about the private investigator, Board President Ben Giovine replied with a written statement that focused on the obligation of individual school board members to maintain confidentiality.

Giovine said that state ethics guidelines require that school board members hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which, if disclosed, would needlessly injure individuals or their schools.

"With so much positive and important work being accomplished throughout the district, the board must take seriously matters that cause harm to the district," Giovine said. "Various leaks over the past year have done irrevocable harm and appropriate action is needed to put a stop to further damage. The purpose of our code of ethics is to build a trusting and cooperative environment for not only the members of the board, but for the public as well."

Giovine said he could not comment directly on the ongoing investigation nor would he disclose the rate the private investigator was being paid.

"I should note that all costs are a part of the district's legal services and therefore did not require separate authorization, but formal direction by the majority of the board," he said.

When asked if the private investigator has a ceiling on the amount of money he can spend, Giovine said the board would continue to monitor the progress of the investigation but did not disclose a cap on the amount the board has allowed.

"Conducting a fair but thorough investigation remains the board's top priority," the president said.

WATCH: Toms River school district officials complain about proposed state aid cuts in the video above.

Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block, who runs the day-to-day operation of a government comparable in size to the Toms River school district, said that while leaks to the media are frustrating for public officials they are a fact of life in government.

"We've never hired a private investigator to look for leakers, not in my time as a department head or as the administrator in the county," Block said.

In June, the New Jersey Education Association claimed in a letter to the school board that Healy made “inappropriate, sex-based comments” to a guidance counselor in the Toms River Regional School District.

In the June 22 letter, NJEA lawyer Steven R. Cohen wrote that Healy told the counselor that he was “distracted by (her) calves;” that he inquired about how often she worked out and suggested that she should compete in a contest with another district employee for “the best legs.”

A copy of the letter was anonymously mailed to The Press.

In response to the sexual harassment claim, school board attorney Stephan R. Leone referred the matter for investigation to retired Ocean County Assignment Judge Vincent J. Grasso, now an attorney in Leone’s Toms River law firm.

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At an Aug. 16 meeting, the findings of that investigation were reported to the board during its executive session behind closed doors. The following day, Leone told The Press that the board retained full confidence in Healy as superintendent.

Healy and Business Administrator William J. Doering did not respond to an email on Tuesday from The Press about the private investigation.

Healy, 56, of Middletown, was superintendent of the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District when he was appointed the Toms River superintendent in April 2014. The district is the fifth-largest in New Jersey with about 16,000 students and an annual budget of more than $240 million.

Since becoming superintendent, Healy has maintained a tight grip on who in the district may communicate with reporters.

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com