OCSD leader serves one year
OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Board of Education formally began its search for a new superintendent of schools last week to replace Matthew Friedman, who served at most about half a year before deciding to search for a new job.
At a special meeting Tuesday, April 18, the school board unanimously agreed on next steps to launch the search for a superintendent to lead the preK–12 school district, the board announced in a press release last week.
According to board President Chris Halliday, the district took the first step today, Friday, April 21, by posting for the position through the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), https://www.njasa.net and on the school district’s website,
https://oceancityschools.org/superintendentsearchinformation. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 5.
“The board of education has experience conducting a superintendent search and will draw from lessons learned to find an exceptional, dedicated leader for our district,” Halliday said in the release. “We are resolute in our commitment to hire a superintendent who understands the distinctive needs of our South Jersey community and shares our ambition to prepare Ocean City students for success today and well into their futures.”
According to Halliday, the board of education is working on an accelerated timeline to receive applications and interview candidates to lead Ocean City’s schools. “At this time, we do not know the date when a new superintendent will join the district,” Halliday said. “I want to emphasize that although our goal is to bring on a new superintendent as soon as possible, our highest priority is finding the right individual – someone who is truly deserving of the position.”
Friedman was hired last spring and took over the Ocean City School District last summer. The district went for a year with an interim superintendent of schools after longtime leader Dr. Kathleen Taylor retired in the summer of 2021. The board hired Friedman, who was then an assistant superintendent in the South Orange and Maplewood School District.
Halliday confirmed in March that Friedman had applied for the position as superintendent of the Quakertown (Pa.) Community School District.
Friedman will continue in his role in the Ocean City School District through the end of the school year.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff