RHS Vice Principals Now Share Interim Principal Job

Ridgewood High School Vice Principals Basil Pizzuto and Jeff Nyhuis will take over as for the remainder of the school year while the district begins its search to replace departing principal Jack Lorenz, the school board voted Monday night.

The tandem of Pizzuto and Nyhuis will be splitting the responsibilities of Lorenz for the remainder of the school year beginning in January, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said at the conclusion of the meeting. The two will be paid an additional $2,500 extra per month, about $15,000 each.

Asked what would happen if the two co-principals disagreed on decisions, Fishbein dismissed the potential. "They have a very good working relationship," the superintendent said. "I don't expect that."

In a letter sent to district parents Tuesday, Fishbein said both individually and as a pair, "Jeff and Basil are proven administrators and valued leaders who are well qualified to oversee and maintain our high school's excellence as the Board and I engage in the search for a new principal."

Fishbein asked parents to offer congratulations and "continuing support" of Pizzuto and Nyhuis in the letter.

Nyhuis has been in Ridgewood schools since 1996 and has been a math teacher, guidance counselor, supervisor and coach before his appointment as an assistant principal in 2008. Pizzuto has been at RHS since 1998 and has served as a math teacher and GA before his appointment as assistant principal in 2007.

Fishbein said the district will be posting the job opening starting Jan. 22 and hopes to have applications in by the second week in February. From there, he said, a committee – consisting of parents, administrators, teachers and students – will narrow the search from six-to-ten candidates to three-to-four.

However, Trustee Sheila Brogan said she felt the large degree of community inclusion could be disruptive to the process. Brogan, a longtime member of the board, recalled that prior to Fishbein's arrival a "constituent committee" favored a candidate that was not chosen. "It backfired," she said.

Brogan argued that smaller committees during the second round of candidate interviews –which follows a vetting by administrators and building heads – would help keep a narrow focus, a point Fishbein said he'd "consider" as the district begins its search.

Lorenz's last day is scheduled to be Dec. 22; Pizzuto and Nyhuis begin their new joint roles on Jan. 1. .

"The truth of the matter is my philosophy and my leadership style were not in concert with the expectations of the Ed. Center and as a result my performance evaluations were not what I felt they should be," Lorenz remarked in an interview with Patch. "So you come to a point where you just have to say, 'How much do I want to fight and try to convince people what's right when it's obvious what's right and expend all of that energy?'"

Fishbein said he'd like to have a principal in place by July 1 for the 2012-2013 school year.

The school board voted unanimously on consent agenda to approve the new responsibilities for Pizzuto and Nyhuis.