Greenwich educator cleared for new post Superintendent Kevin Brennan among three nominees OK'd by Senate for new executive job. Friday, May 23, 2008 • By Trish G. Graber • The Express-Times TRENTON | A local school official was cleared for Warren County's executive county superintendent job Thursday, but not without criticism that he and two other nominees came from the system they are charged with cleaning up. Greenwich Township Superintendent Kevin Brennan of Frelinghuysen Township and two other nominees were approved in bulk by a 23-14 Senate vote. "These three nominees I am certain are good people. I am certain that they have been good educators, but they have been miscast in this role," said Sen. Joseph Kyrillos Jr., R-Middlesex/Monmouth. "We have to make a statement that if we are going to have these roles," Kyrillos added. "We have to have the right people in place." One by one, senators on both sides of the aisle railed against the nominees, the two other nominees being from Salem and Camden counties, and the state's educational oversight system. The criticism came mainly as backlash to reports of wasteful spending in the state's 31 Abbott districts found in recent audits. There was also the report of a superintendent from Keansburg, an Abbott district in Monmouth County, who will get a severance deal of $740,000 when she retires next month. Brennan called the Keansburg situation bizarre, and said the frustration from the senators is understandable. "Clearly there's a call for school districts to be more accountable and I think that is a fair call," he said. "I think it's unfair to categorize us all as being out of control, inefficient and fraudulent in any way." "I look at the school districts in Warren County, I don't see that kind of runaway spending," Brennan added. Brennan said he has heard for a long time that business people should be running school districts like they are multi-million corporations. But he said candidates only versed in business would lose touch with the primary goal of providing an effective and meaningful education. "I think what you'll lose along the way is the contact and the connection with what we're supposed to be doing," he said. "But I hope that my experience both as an educator and as an administrator will be of service to Warren County." Trish Graber is Trenton correspondent for The Express-Times. She can be reached at 609-292-5154.