Ocean City, New Jersey Hiring Fifth School Superintendent Since 2021

The parents who send their children to the Ocean City School District are hoping to finally have administrative stability for the schools their kids attend.  There has been a revolving door of people who have served as Superintendents of the Ocean City School District since 2021.

Since Dr. Kathleen Taylor retired as Ocean City School District Superintendent in 2021, the district has employed three different Interim Superintendents and hired one Full-Time Superintendent.

- Dr. Thomas Baruffi, Interim for the 2021-22 School Year
- Dr. Matthew Friedman was hired as the permanent Superindentent starting with the 2022-23 School Year
-Dr. Scott McCartney became the next Interim Superintendent in the aftermath of Friedman's abrupt departure in the Spring of 2023.
-Terry Crowley was hired as the third Interim Superindentent to hold the position for the final six months of the 2023-24 School Year

The Ocean City School Board this month voted unanimously to hire Christian Angelillo as the next full-time School Superintendent. Receiving a five-year contract, Angelillo will officially start work this summer ahead of the 2024-25 school year.

Why Has Ocean City Employed Four Different School Superintendents

The original plan by the Ocean City School Board was a good one in theory. The idea was to hire an interim Superintendent (Dr. Baruffi) while the District did a thorough job search for the next full-time Superintendent.

The Ocean City School Board hired Dr. Matthew Friedman with the hope he would serve in the position for the next decade, similar to the stability the School District had under the previous Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Taylor. However, Dr. Friedman misleading about his long-term professional ambitions and left the School District abruptly during the Spring of 2023.

Dr. Friedman never told anyone he was open to any other professional opportunities that may open and that he would consider bolting from Ocean City if a more desirable Superintendent position became available. Originally from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Dr. Friedman saw the opportunity to "go home" when he applied for the open Superintendent job at the Quakertown Community School District.

But he never told anyone at the Ocean City School District he was applying for this job nor did he give anyone the heads up before the the Bucks County School Board officially announced they were hiring him for the job. The Ocean City School Board found out about Friedman's new job thanks to an article in the Bucks County Herald.

Why Did Ocean City Hire Two More Interim Superintendents

In the aftermath of Dr. Friedman bailing on his three-year contract, the Ocean City School Board hired an interim Superintendent to handle the transition. Dr. Scott McCartney accepted the job with the understanding that the School District would endeavor to hire the next full-time Superintendent by the end of the 2023 Calendar Year.

The Ocean City School Board was in the middle of an election year in 2023 and the decision was made to wait until after the voters confirmed who would be serving on the board before voting on the next Superintendent. The interim contract was to expire for Dr. McCartney, so the newly elected Ocean City School Board approved the hiring of Terry Crowley as the next Interim Superintendent.

The residents who send their children to the schools within the Ocean City School District can only hope that Christian Angelillo will fulfill the five-year contract he signed and is not a slippery individual such as Dr. Friedman. The good news is that Dr. Angelillo has been vacationing in the Ocean City area for years and now that his kids are in college, he and his wife call this "the right time" to make this move from North Jersey to South Jersey.

According to the Ocean City Sentinel, Dr. Angelillo's daughter is a Freshman at Stockton University, so for Dr. Angelillo and his wife, this move to the Ocean City area for the School Superintendent position makes sense for their family.

The next time Dr. Angelillo and his family go out for a bite to eat, here are some eateries in Ocean City that locals recommend they check out: