McCann Named Interim Superintendent
The Vineland Board of Education earlier this month named former administrator and deeply-rooted community influencer Dr. Thomas P. McCann as interim superintendent. His term will run through the end of the school year in June, or until a permanent replacement is hired.
The decision follows the departure of the previous superintendent Alfonso Q. Llano, who left the district to become the State Superintendent of the Camden City School District in March 2024.
The formal search is underway, and the board retained the consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to identify candidates. Yesterday was the deadline for applications for the principal’s job and the board aims to name the permanent successor by the end of the school year, with a projected start date of July 1.
McCann spent the last 36 years of his professional career as a N.J. School Administrator, and his last 31 years as an Assistant Principal and Principal in the Vineland School District.
The district sponsored community forums to gather feedback from stakeholders to define the characteristics they want in their next long-term leader.
McCann’s return as Interim Superintendent in 2026 is widely seen as a “steady hand” appointment due to his 31-year history within Vineland Public Schools. His tenure in the Vineland Public Schools was centered on Landis Intermediate School, and both the North and South buildings of Vineland High School (Tanner & Asselta Buildings.) He served as Landis Intermediate School’s Assistant Principal from 1987-1993, and then as its principal from 1993-2006.
He was named Principal of Vineland High School South in 2006, and in 2012 took on the additional responsibility of Vineland High School North as Executive Principal of both buildings, the position he held until his retirement in 2018. While Executive Principal, Dr. McCann was also Principal of the District’s Alternative School.
McCann earned B.S. and Ed. D. degrees from Temple University, an Ed.M. degree from Rowan University and a C.A.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.
He is known as much for his academic leadership as his commitment to the district’s athletic programs. An avid rower since college, McCann started Vineland High School Crew in 2000, with his daughter, Elizabeth McCann Petrini (currently a 4th grade Rossi School teacher). He remains a volunteer coach for the team.
Commenting on his selection, McCann said, “I am excited and happy to be able to assist the district with this transition. I am looking forward to working again with friends and past colleagues and those I have yet to meet.”
His primary focus for the remainder of the 2025–2026 school year is ensuring that “Instructional Expectations” and “Leadership Wins” from the previous administration continue without interruption while the search for the permanent leader concludes.
