Ocean City Hires New Primary School Principal

Ocean City Primary School students will have a new principal when they return to classes on Sept. 5.

The Ocean City Board of Education at a special meeting on Wednesday unanimously approved the hiring of Cathleen Smith to replace Joanne Walls.

Smith comes to Ocean City from the Egg Harbor Township School District, where she worked as principal of the C.J. Davenport Complex, two elementary schools with a combined enrollment of about 950.

Smith will earn an annual base salary of $107,000 in Ocean City.

"Ocean City is fortunate to be able to hire a person of Mrs. Smith's caliber," said Kathleen Taylor, superintendent of Ocean City schools. "We had many qualified applicants for this position and the Board of Education feels that we have found someone who resonates with the values we hold dear. Mrs. Smith is committed to excellence in education and she is a person of vision. We feel she will make a great school even better."

Smith grew up in Southwest Philadelphia and Longport, and she graduated from Holy Spirit High School in 1993. She's a 1998 graduate of Rowan University, and she started her career as a middle school science teacher in the Delsea Regional District. She moved to the Egg Harbor Township District in 2005 as an assistant principal at the E.H. Slaybaugh School.

Smith lives in Egg Harbor Township, but her oldest daughter will start kindergarten in Ocean City as a School Choice student. She also has a younger daughter.

Smith said she "loves adding fun and excitement to education." She's proud of building a cohesive staff in Egg Harbor Township, and she has experience in building bilingual and ELL (English Language Learner) programs.

Ocean City Primary School has an enrollment of about 350 students and a growing percentage of students whose first language at home is Spanish.

Smith replaces Walls, who retired from the New Jersey public school system but is going to work for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at St. Hubert High School, near her home.

Walls started her career with the Ocean City School District in November 1999 as the Ocean City High School principal.  She served during the transition to the new high school in 2004. Walls became Primary School principal in 2006.

"The Ocean City School District owes a debt of gratitude for all her work in improving our schools," Taylor said. "We will miss her."

The hiring process continues to find a replacement for Business Administrator Tom Grossi, who is now working as business administrator in the Dennis Township School District.

Mark Ritter is serving as the interim business administrator. He is a retiree who formerly worked as Atlantic County school business administrator, among other positions. He is paid $450 per day for three to five days per week as needed.