Ringwood, NJ superintendent of year part ways
Bernice is granted early leave; Brentnall steps in
Ringwood’s Board of Education has parted ways with New Jersey’s superintendent of the year.
This week, school board members in the upper Passaic County town announced that Kevin Brentnall, the Hewitt intermediate school principal, will lead the district for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year. Brentnall, a former superintendent in Hillsdale, is filling in for Nicholas Bernice, who was named the New Jersey Association of School Administrators’ 2024 Superintendent of the Year in 2023.
Bernice this week was granted a leave agreement that runs through June 30, when his contract as Ringwood’s superintendent expires, district records show.
For more than a year, school board members have at times disapproved of Bernice’s leadership, taking issue with academic progress, curriculum choices and financial decisions. Last month, some board members said they were left shocked by a projected $1.1 million cut to Ringwood Public School’s budget for 2024-25 and the resulting staff cuts, due to a lack of communication from Bernice and the central office. Bernice has refuted the charge.
In a statement his week, Brentnall said he recognized that the district is experiencing some turmoil with the unceremonious departure of Bernice, who was well-supported by staff. Brentnall thanked the board for entrusting him to lead Ringwood’s schools, the community for its patience and the staff for helping to move the district forward.
“It’s incredible that everyone can come to work with smiles and do what we can do for kids,” he said.
A former Montvale Schools’ Teacher of the Year, Brentnall has a long career in education that includes roles as a social studies teacher, social studies supervisor and superintendent. He has a doctorate in educational leadership from the College of St. Elizabeth and previously served as principal of East Brook Middle School in Paramus and director of personnel for Ramsey public schools.
Brentnall was also superintendent for the Hillsdale K-8 public school district for a year before resigning in 2016. He was replaced there by Jeffrey Feifer, who was the interim superintendent in Ringwood when Bernice was named permanent superintendent in 2016.
School board members renewed Bernice’s contract three years into his appointment. However, in late 2023, a vastly changed board voted to deny him an automatic extension.
At the time, Board President Patrick Diamond said the board was leaving the door open for negotiations with Bernice, who had just recently been named the state’s superintendent of the year. Weeks later, Diamond nonetheless announced the board was embarking on a search for a new superintendent and curriculum director.
Since the board has identified four superintendent candidates that could be appointed for the 2024-25 school year, Diamond said last month. It is nearing a selection, he added.
Brentnall’s appointment to acting superintendent has not yet pulled him out of his role as Hewitt principal. The board has nonetheless shifted some roles to provide administrative support in the building and advertised for an acting principal to lead the school from April 24 through June 30, district records show.