Hoping superintendent under contract in March
OCEAN CITY — Interim Superintendent Terrence Crowley has set an ambitious timeline for hiring a contracted leader for the Ocean City School District.
“Last month you approved my goals for the year,” Crowley told the Board of Education on Jan. 25. “My first goal is to assist the board with selecting a new superintendent.”
He said he hopes to have a candidate approved during the board meeting in March and working for the district by June.
The district’s leadership has been in a state of flux since the retirement of longtime superintendent Kathleen Taylor in August 2021.
Thomas Baruffi was appointed interim superintendent and helped lead the search for what the district hoped was a long-term replacement. The search resulted in the hiring of Matthew Friedman, who was then an assistant superintendent in the South Orange and Maplewood School District, in spring 2022, but he was commuting from Pennsylvania and working multiple other jobs. He ultimately served for at most about a half-year before deciding to search for a position elsewhere.
Friedman left in summer 2023 and the district hired Scott McCartney at a rate of $700 per day from July 1 through Dec. 31 as the board continued its search. McCartney oversaw his final meeting as interim superintendent Dec. 7, when the district hired Crowley, who is under contract through June 30.
The district educates students from preschool through 12th grade in three facilities. Students at the primary and intermediate schools are mostly from Ocean City but the majority of students at the high school are from Upper Township, as well as Sea Isle City and a couple of other small sending districts. There also are numerous school choice students.
Crowley said the vacancy had been posted and applications were due Jan. 29. He said he would assist in analyzing the applications and identifying candidates who will be asked to submit a written response to a set of questions.
“That will take probably until the middle of the month of February to get that out and back in again,” Crowley said.
He said preliminary interviews with the search committee — board President Kevin Barnes, Vice President Chris Halliday, Jacqueline McAllister, Fran Newman and Mike Allegretto — are expected in the middle of February and interviews with the entire board at the end of the month.
“I’m hoping to make an appointment toward a successful candidate March 14,” Crowley said. “It’s kind of an aggressive timeline but I’d like to have a candidate on board some time in the month of June.”
While most superintendent contracts begin July 1, Crowley said it would be beneficial to hire someone before summer break.
“My thinking is it would be important to have someone on board in June because they could see what happens in the end of the school year, meet with teachers, see the kids … because in the summer months, there are very few people around,” he said.
Crowley said the second goal is to provide the annual budget document, which he characterized as the way the district conveys to the public “what our curriculum is and what our kids do” in addition to simply paying employees and facilities costs. He said the district underwent a midyear budget review and no issues were found.
The third goal is to reach out to the community through various methods.
“I’m trying to meet as many people as possible,” Crowley said, noting he met with student representatives the previous week as well as Allison Pessolano, superintendent of the Upper Township School District, Ocean City’s major sending community.
Crowley said he and Pessolano discussed articulation in math curricula “to make sure youngsters have similar experiences.”
The final goal is to assist the board with improving its dynamics. Crowley said he solicited ideas from the board and will make a presentation in February, urging anyone who had not submitted their ideas to do so quickly.
Barnes then made a motion to approve the annual dissolution and re-establishment of committees under new business.
Board member Catherine Panico said she and Liz Nicoletti object to the formation of the superintendent search committee because members who wished to serve who excluded.
“I’m in favor of the superintendent’s goals and 100 percent behind what you want to accomplish,” she said. “I am not in favor of the small committee that excludes members who want to be part of the search.”
She said the main reason why she wanted to serve on the board was to help steer selection of the next superintendent.
“I want to be a part of that and am somewhat disappointed,” Panico said.
Crowley then explained that the entire board would be involved in the interview process after the search committee reduces the number of candidates to a manageable number.
He said there’s a lot of competition with multiple districts trying to attract the same people.
“We think the committee approach is a more efficient process,” Crowley said. “Time is of the essence.”
Panico said she feels badly for students who have had such a revolving door of leadership.
Crowley agreed it has been an unfortunate situation over the past three years.
“If you look around the state, districts that are successful have supportive boards and stability in leadership. With interims, you just don’t get that,” he said.
He noted he lives in the city and his some of his grandchildren attend school in the district.
“I want the best for them,” he said. “Hopefully I am going to succeed, and with your support I will.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff