Christie unveils salary cap plan at local school

Just after signing a law capping property tax increases at 2 percent, Gov. Chris Christie announced another cap proposal, this one intended to cut school spending and direct more money to the classroom.

Gov. Chris Christie takes questions from children during his recent visit to the Appleby Elementary School in Spotswood. The governor presented his plan to cap the salaries of superintendents and other school administrators in New Jersey during a recent visit to Spotswood. Several school and borough officials, as well as students, attended the July 15 event at the Appleby Elementary School. State Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler was also on hand.

Christie said he chose Spotswood for the announcement because it has a record of fiscal responsibility and financial restraint.

Christie said that although there are many overpaid school administrators in the state, there are still many others like Spotswood Superintendent of Schools Walter Uszenski, who stepped up to meet financial challenges by volunteering for a pay freeze. Uszenski’s freeze keeps his salary at $142,000, which Spotswood Board of Education President Donna Faulkenberry said is “well under” the salary figures laid out by Christie in his cap proposal.

“I applaud their efforts and willingness to share in the sacrifice for New Jersey students,” the governor said of Spotswood school officials.

Christie said the Spotswood district couples financial restraint with academic excellence.

“We are very pleased that the governor and commissioner recognized the efforts the Spotswood School District has taken to control costs while ensuring that the education of our children comes first,” Faulkenberry said.

Christie said his proposal, which may not need legislative approval to be enacted, seeks to better align the salaries of superintendents and other school administrators with districts’ needs. At present, superintendents of districts with over 1,000 students earn an average of $192,764, and those in districts with fewer than 1,000 earn $152,764 on average. However, the state officials said the compensation rates are often out of proportion with district sizes and student performance.

The current proposal would cap salaries on a sliding scale based on student enrollment.

The salaries of superintendents who oversee districts of up to 250 students would be capped at $120,000; for districts of 251 to 750 students the salaries would be capped at $135,000; for 751 to 1,500, $150,000; 1,501 to 3,000, $165,000; and 3,001 to 10,000, $175,000.

There are only 17 school districts in the state that have an enrollment exceeding 10,000, and those salaries would be capped subject to separate rules developed by the state Department of Education. In Middlesex County, those districts include Edison and Woodbridge, while Old Bridge’s enrollment was just under 10,000.

“While families and school districts across the state cope with fewer resources and continued fiscal challenges, many school administrators continue to receive salaries that are out of proportion with the private sector and current economic realities,” Christie said. “It is our responsibility in state government and at the local level to act in every possible way to ensure that as many education dollars remain in the classroom as possible.”

This cap, he said, would “limit excessive administrator pay and ensure that more dollars are available” for children.

With the proposal, school boards would not be permitted to raise base salaries of superintendents, even for purposes of longevity, beyond the cap.

Also, no superintendent contract that includes a compensation package above the salary caps would be eligible for an extension. At the contract’s expiration, a school board would have to create a new package that conformed to the new policy.

For all new contracts, upon attainment of predetermined milestones, school districts would be able to provide superintendents a non-pensionable, individual-year merit stipend, awarded on the basis of the school district’s year-to-year progress relative to specific performance metrics of student learning.

Faulkenberry said that similar to some of the governor’s other proposals, including employee health insurance contributions and caps for retirement payouts, the Spotswood Board of Education has been ahead of the curve.

“[We’ve been] doing these things years before they became regulations,” she said. “We are clearly on the same page with the governor in this regard.”