Saddle River school superintendent retires after one-year state suspension of credentials

SADDLE RIVER — Six weeks after School Superintendent Gina Cinotti's credentials were suspended for one year by the state Education Department's State Board of Examiners , she announced her retirement from the district on Wednesday.

Richard Freedman, Ridgewood's interim assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, was named interim superintendent of the 126-student preschool-to-grade-five district starting Wednesday, at a rate of $825 per day, through June 30, 2025.

Board President Emily Kaufman thanked Cinotti for her service after the announcement at the special school board meeting. Kaufman said the board will discuss how to find Cinotti's successor.

Board attorney Matthew Giacobbe said whoever is hired to search for a new superintendent should most likely hold off until the "season" for superintendent searches in January and February. That timing is geared to the 90-day notice school executives must give when leaving for a new post so they are in their new district by August for the start of the school year.

The 12-page Order of Suspension , adopted by the State Board of Examiners on June 27, came after a six-year investigation of charges filed against Cinotti by her previous employer, the Netcong School District, in May 2018. She left the Netcong district in June 2018 to join the Saddle River School District as its superintendent.

A resident asked why the district hired Cinotti if she was involved in a dispute with her previous district. However, Giacobbe characterized the dispute as a "private matter" that "did not involve this district."

"When somebody is hired as a superintendent, it's got to go to the commissioner of education for review and approval," Giacobbe said. "The commissioner of education, the county executive at the time, approved it, so they had every right to hire her. Dr. Cinotti made the decision to retire and move on. So that's where we are."

In July, Kaufman announced that the New Jersey education commissioner had held Cinotti's suspension in abeyance pending a review of her application for a stay. At that time, Kaufman said, Cinotti was advised she could remain in her post while the appeal was under review. Giacobbe said nothing about the commissioner's ruling, only that the appeal was still in progress.

Giacobbe said Cinotti was entitled to unused vacation and sick days totaling $31,000 at retirement, and that no other payouts are involved.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Saddle River school superintendent retires after one-year state suspension of credentials