School board grants Brenner’s resignation as superintendent

Bill San Antonio

Roslyn Board of Education trustees on Thursday voted to finalize the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner, who in January announced he had accepted the same position with the Darien, Conn. public school district in part to cut down on travel time from his Westchester home.

The board also approved resolutions to make Gerry Dempsey the interim superintendent of schools during the 2015-16 school year and Allison Brown, currently the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, the superintendent of schools starting in 2016-17.

“You [Brenner] are, in every sense of the word, the eighth board member because of your leadership, your moral compass, your work ethic, your fairness and your common touch,” said Board of Education President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy. “We wish you the lighter commute, we wish you happiness, we wish you well, and we know in our hearts that we can let you go, even though we don’t want to, because you’ll have left us in such good shape. We will miss you every minute of every day.”

Brenner’s resignation, which will take effect on June 30, was first announced in Jan. 16 letters to the Roslyn community from Brenner and the Board of Education that were posted to the school district’s website.

Brenner, who spent 10 years with the Roslyn School District as its assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, its assistant superintendent of schools and most recently its superintendent of schools, thanked the Board of Education for its support and the positive working relationship that he said led to the district’s success during his time in Roslyn.

“I don’t think there’s a [better] superintendent seat that you could get than the one I’m sitting in, and therein lies the problem,” he said. “I’m going to be a superintendent somewhere else and starting all over again, and it’s not that we don’t have our bumps and our bruises and I am someone who makes enemies from time to time, as I’m someone with an opinion and that doesn’t always go down well…So imagine my mind when I try to sit and say, what are you doing?” 

“Really, this ultimately was a quality-of-life decision and it’s a complicated quality-of-life decision because my quality of life is so good,” he added. “That’s the balance, because I’m leaving a place where I’ve spent so much time and have done so well and I’m handing it off to two of my friends and a board who I have great respect for. This place is running well, things are good, and for that I say thank you…because we did this together.”

Brenner was set to earn $278,726 in base salary for the 2014-15 school year. Prior to arriving in Roslyn, he spent 16 years in the Great Neck School District as a school psychologist and principal at the Village School, as well as a five-year stint as principal of Yorktown High School in Westchester County.

Brenner was hired at Roslyn in the mid 2000s in the aftermath of an $11 million embezzlement scandal involving former school Superintendent Frank Tassone and other administrators. He succeeded former Superintendent John A. Richman in 2009. 

A Port Washington native, Brenner graduated from Paul D. Schreiber High School in the late 1970s. He graduated cum laude from Tufts University in 1981 and earned a Ph.D. in clinical/school psychology from Hofstra University in 1986.

Brown joined the Roslyn School District in 2008 as principal of East Hills Elementary School. She was previously employed by the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District.

Ben-Levy said Brown’s elevation to superintendent of schools is “one of the happiest things this board has done and will ever do.”

“I’ve never seen anyone with more energy and enthusiasm for students and children of all ages, sizes, shapes, colors and creeds,” Ben-Levy said. “You have not disappointed us in any one endeavor in anything you’ve been taken on, and this is just another area where you will shine like the star you are. You have the support of the entire board and administration. We couldn’t be more happier of you than we are that you’re taking on this position.”

Added Vice President Cliff Saffron: “I cannot tell you how fortunate we are to have Allison to be stepping into that role. We couldn’t be more proud of you.” 

Brown briefly thanked the board for offering the position and said she would be prepared and ready to assume the role.

Brenner said he was not involved in talks between the board to promote Brown but added his support for its decision.

“When someone leaves after 10 years, that’s a big change, and it was like nothing happened the next day,” Brenner said. “It was like business as usual and the community was comfortable and at ease…When a superintendent leaves, there’s usually chaos. With [Brown’s promotion], there was no chaos.”

Dempsey, who served as Roslyn’s interim superintendent of schools from 2007-09 and helped groom Brenner for the position, is slated to have a similar role in mentoring Brown, officials said. 

“This is a place where people have demonstrated a great deal of moral courage in rebuilding and reaffirming the values of this community, which was done by everyone at this table, everyone in the community, everybody on staff here,” he said. “It’s a marvelous accomplishment, and being part of that for a short time in the past and having the opportunity to come and be a part of it again is a tremendous thing for me.”

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