The state Legislature voted Thursday to remove a $191,584 cap on school superintendent salaries in New Jersey, sending a bill to Gov. Phil Murphy that would undo one of former Gov. Chris Christie’s most controversial education policies.
If signed by Murphy, the bill would bar the state Department of Education from setting maximum salaries for superintendents while, at the same time, setting guidelines for school executive contracts to limit or standardize bonuses, golden parachutes and other fringe benefits.
Christie in 2011 implemented a $175,000 cap on superintendents, citing high salaries and generous perks in superintendent contracts. In the wake of that action, several high-profile superintendents resigned rather than accept a pay cut, or took jobs in Pennsylvania or New York.
Some districts were left with a revolving door of interim superintendents before finding a qualified long-term replacement.
Christie’s administration raised the maximum base pay to $191,584 in 2017 with incentives to earn more if school chiefs stay in the same district.
The average salary for New Jersey school superintendents was $155,631 in the 2017-18 school year, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of state data. More than 30 collected more than $200,000 in base pay, despite the salary cap. Existing law includes exemptions for charter schools, districts with career and technical schools, schools for special education students and districts with more than 10,000 students.
Superintendents who are subject to the cap are also eligible for extra pay if they have a high school in their district, stay in the same district for multiple contracts or meet goals for merit pay.
Lawrence S. Feinsod, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, said the cap was an unnecessary restraint, as there’s already a 2 percent cap on increases in administrative spending.
“Local boards of education need the discretion over superintendent compensation to ensure that they are able to attract and retain the chief school administrators who are best suited to lead their education programs,” he said in a statement.
State Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, said passage of the bill was a long time coming.
"We hope that this begins to remedy those unintended consequences that were there and everyone takes a responsible approach," Ruiz said.
New restrictions the bill places on superintendents’ contracts could force that responsibility. For example, the county superintendent could reject a contract if a superintendent’s pay is out of line with districts of a similar size in the region.
The legislation, as amended, also takes steps to crack down on contract perks, saying no contract can include provisions that reimburse or compensate executives for their legally mandated taxes, life insurance, health care or pension payments.
It would limit severance pay to the lesser of either 12 months pay — at a rate of three months for every year left on the contract — or the remaining salary due per the contract.
And it places restrictions on merit bonuses, specifying that bonuses tied to quantitative goals cannot exceed 3.33 percent and those tied to qualitative goals cannot exceed 2.5 percent.
Superintendents also would not be eligible for monthly allowances other than a “reasonable” car allowances, and “no contract shall include a provision of a dedicated driver or chauffeur,” according to the bill
The state Senate passed the bill (S692) 27-8 on Thursday, and the state Assembly voted 50-19 with five abstentions.
Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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