By MADDY VITALE
In a sweeping change at the Ocean City Board of Education, three new members were sworn in Thursday during the annual reorganization meeting and a new interim superintendent of schools took charge.
School Business Administrator Tim Kelley swore in new board members Michael Allegretto, Jocelyn Palaganas and Corey Niemiec.
In a separate ceremony, Kelley administered the oath of office for Upper Township representatives Fran Newman and Kristie Chisholm for their yearly term on the board.
Also, Terrence Crowley, a longtime educator, took over as the school district’s new interim superintendent. Crowley replaced former interim superintendent Dr. Scott McCartney, whose short-term contract ran through the end of December.
Crowley, of Ocean City, joined the nearly 2,000-student school district on Jan. 1 and Thursday was his first official school board meeting as the new leader. He will head the district until the school board hires a full-time superintendent. The search for a full-time superintendent is underway.
The first order of business in Crowley’s superintendent report was to thank the student representatives who sit on the school board and give reports at the meetings.
“First, I would like to welcome back our three student reps. I will meet with them later and talk with them,” he said.
Crowley noted that it was “outstanding” that the district welcomes the student leaders to take a seat on the board to give a student’s perspective.
In addition to all of the new board members and Crowley, there was a change in leadership roles for the president and vice president of the school board.
When it came time for a vote to determine who would become president and vice president, it was between two people for president, Kevin Barnes and Catherine Panico. Barnes received the majority of votes and became president of the board.
Chris Halliday, who was president since 2023, opted to step aside from the top post on the board. He will now serve as the board’s vice president in the leadership switch.
Barnes said a few remarks about becoming president, moments before changing seats and moving to the center of the table.
“I want to thank all of you for your confidence in me. I promise you that I will do my very best,” Barnes said. “The job requires a lot of time and effort. Chris made the personal decision to step back a little bit.”
Then Barnes commended Halliday for serving as president during sometimes difficult times in the district.
“I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work you have done. I think it was an outstanding job, and I really mean that,” he said.
Halliday was chosen by his peers to serve as vice president. Panico threw her name in for that position as well, but Halliday received the majority of votes.
School board members Disston Vanderslice and Upper Township representative Bill Holmes could not attend the meeting.
In addition to speaking about taking on the role of president, Barnes thanked Crowley for joining the district.
“Mr. Crowley, welcome aboard,” he said. “Your credentials are impeccable over 50-plus years in education. Really happy to have you on board.”
Barnes also welcomed the newly elected board members and told them it is a “great opportunity for you.”
“It’s a great job,” he said. “The knock on it is, it could be a thankless job. I personally have enjoyed it and I think you will, too.”
He also welcomed back the Upper Township members, saying that the relationship between Ocean City and Upper Township is “a great partnership.”
Upper Township is the largest sending district for students attending Ocean City’s three public schools.
But while there were many positives during the meeting, Barnes said there is a lot of work to be done to continue to improve the district overall for the students.
“What we have right now, the current facilities, administration and teachers, I think, are second to none. They’re all outstanding. We have a great group to start with,” said Barnes, who has three daughters in the school district.
“There’s always room for improvement,” he continued. “But I do really appreciate our administration and our teachers.”
Ocean City resident Vic Staniec, a member of Fairness in Taxes, a community watchdog group, welcomed the new board members. Staniec has known Allegretto and Palaganas for years. He also said that he is very pleased that Crowley will be leading the district as interim superintendent.
“Mike Allegretto was on the board and was president of the board,” Staniec recalled of Allegretto’s former tenure as a Board of Education member in the early 2000s. “Jocelyn, I’ve known her for 10 years. What a job with the PTA. I’m sure she’ll be a fine asset to our board.”
As for Crowley, Staniec said, “I couldn’t be happier that you will be with us for at least six months.”
