Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • April 11, 2012 Ridgewood Village resident becomes high school principal by John Koster Ridgewood resident Dr. Thomas A. Gorman has been appointed principal of Ridgewood High School. He will begin his service on July 1. The April 2 appointment by the Ridgewood Board of Education provides for a year of service. Dr. Gorman’s salary will be $168,000, including a $3,000 doctorate stipend. Dr. Gorman, who was present at the meeting, said Ridgewood is a coveted district and that his appointment was a dream come true. The new principal replaces John Lorenz, who resigned after some differences with school board members, which he declined to discuss in detail at the time of his departure. Lorenz also praised the professional staff and administration of the Ridgewood school system on leaving the post. Dr. Gorman, 42, is now serving as principal of Westwood Junior Senior High School. He also served as an assistant high school principal at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes from 2004 to 2007, when he left to take the Westwood principal’s post. Before that, he was an assistant principal at Midland Park High School for two years, and had taught social studies at Ramapo High School from 1999 to 2002 and at Teaneck High School in 1998-99. He previously worked in the private sector in market and client relations for eight years. Following his graduation from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania with a major in history and a minor in business administration, Gorman received a master’s degree in education and supervision from Montclair State University in Upper Montclair in 2002. He received a doctorate in education from Rutgers University in 2010. He said he would work closely with Ridgewood Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein and Assistant Principals Jeff Nyhuis and Basil Pizzuto, who have been covering administration since Lorenz left the district. In other business, the board also approved stipends of $12,432 for Frank Mauiello as principal of the 2012 Special Needs Summer School/Summer Adventure Program and of $8,575 for Margaret Schaeffer as director of the New Players Summer Program. Pictured: Dr. Thomas A. Gorman