OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Board of Education wants to choose its next superintendent of schools by the end of April so she or he can be in place July 1, ready for the next school year.
(UPDATE – Multiple media outlets reported that former superintendent of schools Dr. Matthew Friedman has resigned effective March 2 from the Quakertown, Pa. school district, where he had accepted the job in 2023 while superintendent in Ocean City. He served in Quakertown for about two and a half years and had been on leave since mid-February. Published reports cite Friedman drawing criticism for spending time out of district for professional development, an issue that caused concerns in Ocean City before his departure after a one-year tenure. The Quakertown school board accepted his resignation March 2.)
Current Superintendent Dr. Christian Angelillo surprised school board members during executive session of their Jan. 22 meeting, telling them of his intent to retire. He followed that with a public announcement during the regular board meeting that evening.
Angelillo, 53, made clear at the board meeting that he was not leaving for another position, but was retiring, a key point after the district went through a few years of instability with interim superintendents and another who started looking for a new job not long after he was hired.
“This is a bit of a bomb dropped on us,” board President Kevin Barnes said at the time of how Angelillo caught the board by surprise.
“Good or bad, we have a lot of experience on this board with hiring somebody now. We really intend to jump on this quick,” he said then.
The board did just that, advertising for a new superintendent the next day.
At the board’s meeting Feb. 26, members discussed the timeline of the replacement.
According to a press release the board issued Friday, Feb. 27, the board worked in executive session.
“The full board conducted a preliminary screening of the candidate pool and discussed the search process in executive session during a special board meeting on Feb. 26. No action was taken,” the release stated.
“We are working diligently to choose a leader who embodies our district’s values and educational mission,” Barnes said in the release. “Our ideal candidate will have a proven record of meeting the needs of all learners, setting high standards for faculty and staff, and supporting a robust and innovative curriculum.”
The posting for the superintendent’s job closed the beginning of last week, Feb. 23. First-round interviews with candidates are scheduled the week of March 9 with second-round interviews the following week.
In late March into April, according to the board, a new superintendent will be selected and contract negotiations will commence.
The goal is to approve the hiring at the April 30 board meeting and announce it to the public so the new superintendent can begin July 1.
The board said updates on the search will be posted on ocsdnj.org/.
Revolving door
of superintendents
The Ocean City School District has gone through a revolving door of superintendents after the retirement of longtime leader Dr. Kathleen Taylor.
Angelillo was hired in March 2024 after a rough time in district history, which is why he made it a point to say he was retiring rather than taking a new job.
The K-12 district was without permanent leadership in the 2021-22 school year after Taylor retired in summer 2021. An interim superintendent served for a year before the district hired Dr. Matthew Friedman, who ran the district for the 2022-23 school year but left for another district after a tumultuous one-year tenure.
Friedman began searching for a new job not long after accepting the Ocean City position, a fact that led to considerable strife in the district and community.
Another interim superintendent served for the fall of 2023 while a search for a longer-term replacement was conducted but was not able to come up with a candidate. The search began anew in 2024 under another interim, Terry Crowley Sr., father of Ocean City Council President Terry Crowley Jr.
Angelillo, who came with 29 years of experience in education, was hired with great fanfare in March 2024. Before coming to Ocean City, his most recent posting was in Boonton, a town of just fewer than 9,000 people in Morris County. He was the superintendent of the K-12 Boonton School District, which had an enrollment of about 1,450 students in the 2020-21 school year.
Talking about his retirement at the January meeting, Angelillo said, “Decisions like this are never made in the vacuum. I can say that I have never been more proud to be in a district than I have in Ocean City.”
“This staff here, the administrative team, everyone is truly top-notch. I think that we’re on a trajectory for real success. And I’m confident that whoever is here for you next will continue us on that path,” Angelillo said.