Brick School Board Names Filippone Acting Superintendent, Keeps Gialanella In Smaller Role

BRICK, NJ — Dennis Filippone has been named acting superintendent of the Brick Township School District, and Thomas Gialanella will move to a two-days-per-week post in the administration beginning July 1.

Those moves were approved by the Brick Township Board of Education during a special meeting Monday night held at the district's administration building. The next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 13 at Brick Township High School.

The special meeting Monday initially was called for the board to approve bids for two capital projects: Phase 1 of the parking lot project at the Veterans Memorial school complex, and the east parking lot at Brick Township High School. Both projects were awarded to C.J. Hesse Inc., which bid $687,213.12 on the Veterans school lot and $425,213.12 for the Brick Township High School lot.

But with a new indictment handed up last week against Brick Township Superintendent Walter C. Uszenski by an Ocean County grand jury, the school board finally took action on the lingering question of who will be running the school district.

It's a question many had been asking since late February, when Ocean County Superior Court Judge Patricia B. Roe threw out earlier charges against Uszenski, his daughter Jacqueline Halsey, and former director of special services Andrew Morgan related to special education services for Halsey's son.

READ MORE: 5 Things To Know About New Indictments In The Brick Superintendent Case

When the 45-day appeal window came and went without an appeal of the ruling by the Ocean County prosecutor's office, some residents began pushing the school board to reinstate Uszenski, who has been suspended from his position since his arrest on May 7, 2015. Their contention was reinstating him as superintendent would mitigate any damages Uszenski, who along with his daughter filed a tort claim naming the district, former board members and others, might receive as a result of a lawsuit.

But statements from the prosecutor's office that it was not dropping the case and from Uszenski's lawyer that said a new indictment was expected, convinced the board to hold off on action.

The new indictment changed that, however, and Monday night the board ratified the suspension, which has been without pay since Uszenski first was indicted in late September 2015, and continued the suspension while the court case continues. Uszenski's contract is due to expire June 30, 2018.

That left the district with a bit of a quandary, however. Gialanella, who was hired as interim superintendent in February 2016, would have had to leave the position in February 2018, as under state law retired school administrators can serve a maximum of two years in any interim assignment. And with an uncertain time frame for Uszenski's case, conducting a search for a new superintendent could not begin until Uszenski's contract is near its expiration, because of all the uncertainties involved. That meant there was a potential for needing to appoint someone to serve as superintendent for five months as a stop-gap — and with the potential for disruption in the midst of the budget process.

Filippone, who began his 40-year career in the district in 1978 as a special education teacher at Lake Riviera Middle School, has been serving as director of planning, research, and evaluation since last year, after spending 13 years as principal of Brick Township High School. Prior to the 2003-04 school year, Filippone was principal at Osbornville Elementary School, and served as an assistant principal at Brick High School from 1996 to 2001, and also served as an assistant football coach under Warren Wolf from 1978-98, according to a Greater Media report on his 2003 promotion.

As acting superintendent, he will receive an additional $44.13 per diem rate added to his salary of $162,681, an addition of roughly $11,500 based on 260 days.

Gialanella, meanwhile, will become the interim director of planning, research and evaluation, working two days per week at a per diem of $638.56, or roughly $63,000 over 50 weeks.

Both moves, which take effect July 1, were approved unanimously by the board, with Sharon Cantillo and John Barton abstaining due to conflicts because they have family members who work in the district, Mary Carey, secretary to business adminstrator James Edwards, said via email.

The moves of Filippone and Gialanella keep some continuity of experience and knowledge in place at a time the district is facing the possibility of a serious setback in the form of a proposed $2.2 million cut to state funding. If the cut, part of a deal negotiated on school funding by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto two weeks ago, is approved as part of the final state budget for 2017-18, the district will be faced with an immediate need for cuts that will likely mean both staff and program cuts.

Dennis Filippone (left), Thomas Gialanella photos via Brick Township School District website