NEWARK -- The city's teachers union is asking the state to remove 11 high-ranking school district administrators from their jobs, alleging in a complaint the employees were illegally hired because they are not certified for their positions.

"We're looking to have all these people terminated and/or replaced with authentic, certificated or endorsed administrators," said John M. Abeigon, president of the 4,000-member Newark Teachers Union.

The union said the administrative hires, made in the last year and a half, do not have the required certifications to serve in those roles, according to a request for a declaratory ruling filed with the state Commissioner of Education Thursday. The complaint also seeks to rescind all actions taken by the 11 administrators in the district.

But, school officials had harsh reactions to the claims made by the union.

"As we've seen in the past, rather than spending time and energy on getting a contract negotiated for his members or more resources for children, John Abeigon prefers to use his members' dues to file frivolous lawsuits in order to get his name in the paper," said Christopher Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools.

"As with previous challenges of this nature filed by Mr. Abeigon, these new claims are a distraction from the important work of educating children and serving families."

The state Department of Education said it does not comment on items awaiting review. Abeigon said the Commissioner of Education can make a decision or send it to an administrative law judge.

Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Chairperson of Newark's School Advisory Board, declined to comment, pending more information on the complaint. The advisory board, however, does not formally vote on hires, according to the district.

Abeigon said none of the administrators are local to Newark and only a handful are from New Jersey. He said the union does not think the administrators are effectively handling their jobs.

"It's becoming a big problem with evaluations," Abeigon said. "These are teachers who have five, 10 years of experience being told what to do and how to manage a classroom by people who don't have a similar experience."

The union filed a similar complaint against former Chief Talent Officer Vanessa Rodriguez in 2015, claiming she lacked the proper certifications to perform her duties, including the approval of layoffs and filing of tenure charges.

Rodriguez later resigned in 2016.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.