Bergen County School Band Director, Accused Of Sex Crimes, Loses Principal Certification

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A former band director in Bergen County who was accused of sexual assault has lost his teaching and principal certificates, state records indicate. READ MORE: School Band Director Accused Of Sex Crimes Against Bergen County Student: Prosecutors

Kurt Zimmerman, 55, of Rockaway, was charged last year with aggravated sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

At the June 26 meeting of the New Jersey State Board of Examiners, the board voted to accept Zimmerman's relinquishment of his teacher of music certificate and also his Principal Certificate of Eligibility.

An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office in January 2024 resulted in allegations that Zimmerman, "while previously employed by the Westwood Regional School District as the director of bands, engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile student between the ages of 13 and 17 on more than one occasion," prosecutors said at the time.

The conduct was determined to have taken place at Westwood Regional Middle School in Westwood and at Westwood Regional High School in Washington Township, prosecutors said.

Zimmerman was charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact in addition to the second-degree endangering charge. He was taken to the Bergen County Jail.

The Record of Hackensack reported this week that he's still incarcerated.

Last year, it was reported that he was accused of crimes in the Morris Hills Regional District as well.

The the state order regarding the teaching certificates can be found here.

READ MORE: School Band Director Accused Of Sex Crimes Against Bergen County Student: Prosecutors