Manchester Superintendent Firing: 'A Time To Heal'

This article was originally published Nov. 9, 2023

MANCHESTER, NJ — When Manchester Schools Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen read off a resolution Tuesday night that indicated the school board was planning to fire Superintendent John Berenato, there was an audible gasp from the audience.

That was followed by cheers, and then much louder cheers as the next resolution confirmed the firing with the appointment of Diane Pedroza, the Manchester Township School District's director of curriculum, as interim superintendent through the end of the 2023-24 school year.

The firing came after three weeks of public outcry after a Patch report on a lawsuit filed by Whiting Elementary School Principal Evelyn Swift that alleges Berenato engaged in a pattern of age, gender and racial discrimination and tried to pressure her into retiring.

Berenato, who was hired in February 2022 and given a five-year contract, was relieved of his duties as of Tuesday evening, following the unanimous vote of the board members present: Gayle Mount, Gina Georgiano, Timothy Poss, George Cervenak, Fay Weinstein and Laura Wingler. Deborah Pease, who is the Lakehurst representative, and Michael Kelliher were absent.

He is not receiving any payout from the school district, Board Attorney Thomas Monahan said.

Heather Cramer, president of the Manchester Township Special Education Parent Action Group, praised the board, saying leadership means setting an example.

"You took the opportunity to lead by a better example," Cramer said. "There's still work to do, there's some cleanup to do, but we thank you for your time."

The call for more changes was echoed in the audience, but there were no specifics made public Tuesday evening.

Dan Staples, president of the Manchester Township Education Association, issued a statement Wednesday praising the school board, saying they "commend our Board of Education for rising to the occasion and dealing with Mr. Berenato head-on."

"His retaliatory, reckless, capricious and vindictive actions have with alarming consistency fallen well beneath the dignity of the position which he held," Staples said, adding they were "pleasantly surprised by the Board’s decision to terminate immediately as opposed to a suspension."

The resolution firing Berenato identified him only by his employee number, and the reasons for the firing were not announced at the meeting.

In addition to firing Berenato, Lorentzen read into the record an introduction of an update to the district's electronic communications policy, removing language that gave the superintendent permission to look at the emails of anyone in the district at any time for any reason. The board voted unanimously to approve the introduction.

That policy update will be placed on a later agenda for a second reading and approval, likely in December.

While the board was in executive session, Swift thanked those present for the support they have shown her in the wake of the lawsuit.

The potential for the district to be sued over its termination of Berenato did not seem to worry the Board of Education, as several members smiled at the response from the audience to the announcement.

The public controversy that erupted after the publication of Swift's lawsuit led to a number of accusations and questions on social media, including questions of whether Berenato had been truthful on his application to the district.

Berenato was not present at the meeting. His attorney, Christopher Supsie, attempted to address the audience and defend Berenato, saying he answered the questions truthfully and ethically.

Supsie also claimed the allegations in Swift's lawsuit had been investigated by an independent attorney and dismissed, though Dennis Adams, head of the district's administrators union, said the investigation was ongoing.

"(Berenato) faithfully served the students in the district since he was hired," Supsie said, adding Berenato looks forward to telling his side of the story in court, which seems to imply he will file a lawsuit over the termination. Supsie did not respond to a Patch request for clarification on Wednesday.

Also publicly revealed Tuesday night was an ethics complaint filed against Berenato with the state Department of Education by Erin and Marc Micciulla. The complaint, a portion of which was read during public session Tuesday night, alleges Berenato used his position as superintendent to seek retribution against Marc Micciulla, who is a Manchester Township Police Officer. The Micciullas spoke at a Manchester school board meeting in October 2022, raising concerns about security issues. Berenato is accused of contacting Manchester Police Chief Robert Dolan and asking him to discipline Marc Micciulla over his public comment, which was made as a parent and not in his role as a township police officer.

"We believe the Board of Education has acted decisively, professionally and appropriately in response to a challenging situation, and their dedication to upholding the integrity of our district is to be commended," Staples said. "We are confident that they acted with the best interests of our students and community in mind."

He said the MTEA offers "our full support and congratulations to Mrs. Pedroza, who will move forward as Acting Superintendent with the full support of the MTEA and the community at large. This is a time for Manchester Schools to heal and move forward in unity."