Holmdel leadership changes continue

BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

The wave of administrator turnover at Holmdel High School continued last week with the termination of Athletic Director Laurie Cancalosi.

At a special meeting on Aug. 23, the Board of Education gave Cancalosi a 60-day notice of termination through a unanimous vote, barring two abstentions. Cancalosi will not return in September, having chosen not to serve out the 60 days, according to Schools Superintendent Barbara Duncan.

In a prepared statement read by board President Martin Pfleger, the board said that Duncan had been investigating the role of the athletic director for months and recommended the board make a change.

"Superintendent Duncan has been involved in the issues and concerns facing the Holmdel School District, and in particular, the supervision of the physical education," Pfleger read.

Pfleger continued by saying that Duncan's recommendation for the termination of Cancalosi marks a change in direction for the department.

"After serious consideration of the issues," Pfleger said, "she made the recommendation to the Board of Education that the district is in need of a different direction in supervision and administration of physical education, health and athletics."

Pfleger thanked Cancalosi for her service and wished her luck.

"What I recognized was a need for a change and for different leadership styles," Duncan said of her recommendation.

Cancalosi is the second administrator terminated in the last six weeks, as Cheryl Swider was relieved of her duties as Holmdel High School principal in July. Swider will return in the fall, assuming her previously tenured post as athletic trainer.

Both administrators had been accused in the past of making personnel decisions based on personal preference. Specifically, a set of four teacher transfers raised concern about the administration's motives. Some believed those transfers had been retribution for criticism of the way the administration handled the resignation of the Holmdel High School football coaching staff after the administration reinstated a player previously removed from the team for disciplinary reasons.

All transfers have, as of now, been overturned and both Swider and Cancalosi have been terminated.

"We are in support of this decision and recent decisions the board has made," said Denise King, the president of the Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA). "We look forward to our continuing working together to improve the district."

King said that the teachers' union felt that many of the decisions Cancalosi made were for personal, not professional reasons.

With less than two weeks before the opening of the fall sports season, definite plans for who will take the helm of Holmdel sports have not been made. However, Duncan said Assistant Principal Bill Loughran and Maintenance Director Bill Balicki will fill the post until an interim A.D. can be hired.

According to Duncan, Loughran and Balicki both have a "rich coaching history" and will tackle the responsibility of scheduling games since the Roggy Field improvements will not be ready for the football home opener on Sept. 8.

"Both of them have stepped up to the plate," Duncan said. "The two of them are taking over so we don't miss a beat."

Duncan said the district would advertise for the interim position and has already heard from interested parties. She does not want to hastily search for a permanent director.

"I am not settling. I need really good people," Duncan said.