Physical education teacher Tom Gallione will become an acting assistant principal starting Tuesday, Jan. 7. Superintendent Erik Gundersen said he is recommending the position to the Board of Education at its meeting on Monday, Jan. 6. 

Gallione is stepping in for current interim Principal John Puccio who was originally the assistant principal.

“It’s filling the void that we have now,” Gundersen said. “Mr. Gallione has been in the district and this building for a long time, so he knows the systems that are in place, the people, the personalities, and the students. We were looking for someone who was qualified and that would do a solid job for the team.”

Out of the three administrative positions at Pascack Valley, one is acting and two are interims for the rest of the school year. Interim Assistant Principal Christine Pollinger has filled in for Debbie Squiccimari, and Puccio became interim principal after Tom DeMaio retired on Dec. 20. Gundersen said Puccio is reverting back to assistant principal next school year, so Gallione’s position is considered acting.

“We have to get accustomed to the various new roles that they have,” Gundersen said, “but they’re going to do a great job for the remainder of the school year as we go through the process of what the permanent team is going to look like.”

Gundersen said he will be sharing the search process for the permanent principal position in the next few weeks. The position is open to both internal and external candidates.