MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Education on Nov. 16 released proposed revisions to a portion of the state’s Accountability Regulations, including changes to the superintendent salary cap provisions. The proposal would adjust salary maximums and make other changes to the cap process.
Going into effect in 2011, the cap provisions set salary maximums for superintendents based on district enrollment and allow districts to set performance goals for their superintendent, which, if reached, result in bonus compensation. The regulations also provide stipends to districts that include high schools or share their chief school administrator with another district.
The New Jersey School Board Association Task Force studied the Accountability Regulations for approximately one year and made several recommendations to the state Board of Education and acting commissioner of education; among the recommendations, the NJSBA asked that the superintendent salary cap be eliminated.
While the NJDOE is proposing to increase the salary cap and consolidate categories, it will retain the cap, against the NJSBA’s recommendation.
“The department proposes to increase the caps commensurate with inflation and create renewal incentives in recognition that school districts should have more flexibility to recruit and retain educational leaders who meet the needs of the school district,” the Department of Education said in a release, acknowledging that these changes are being suggested in order to give school boards more flexibility. “The proposed amendments also seek to address the instability that may accompany increased rates of superintendent turnover and an over-reliance on interim superintendents to fill vacant superintendent positions.”
But the NJSBA is not satisfied.
“While we appreciate movement on this issue, we are disappointed that the salary cap concept would remain in effect,” NJSBA Executive Director Lawrence S. Feinsod said in a statement. “NJSBA maintains that the superintendent salary cap is an unnecessary cap within a cap. The compensation package for the district’s chief education officer should be the purview of the local school board, which is responsible for the local governance of public education.”
Local school boards want more to be done as well.
“The proposed change gives school districts some ability to provide superintendents with modest annual increases in a contract renewal — which the current cap did not — and allows a slight increase in the additional allowance for superintendents in districts with high schools,” South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education President Elizabeth Baker told the News-Record. “Unfortunately, the NJDOE’s proposal does not address the fundamental issue — which is that the initial cap was artificially low compared to existing compensation structures within the state and surrounding jurisdictions.
“This will continue to undermine the ability of districts to attract and retain experienced superintendents,” she continued.
The existing regulations cap salaries at maximum amounts based on six enrollment categories. The Nov. 16 proposal would consolidate the enrollment categories into three groups, with increased salary maximums. It would also allow districts to increase the salaries of superintendents who are at maximum and who accept new contracts by 2 percent for each year of the new agreement. The existing cap mandates a maximum yearly salary of $125,000 for districts with 250 students or fewer; $135,000 for 251 to 750 students; $145,000 for 751 to 1,500 students; $155,000 for 1,501 to 3,000 students; $165,000 for 3,001 to 6,500 students; and $175,000 for 6,501 or more students.
The revised mandates would cap the superintendent’s maximum yearly salary at $147,794 for districts with 749 students or fewer; $169,689 for 750 to 2,999 students; and $191,584 for 3,000 or more students.
Both the existing and proposed cap regulations allow districts with 10,000 or more students to apply to have the education commission grant a waiver of the maximum salary amount; the proposed revisions would limit eligible districts to submitting only one waiver request during the term of a contract.
As with the existing cap regulation, the proposal still allows for merit bonuses, high school stipends and stipends for districts sharing a superintendent.
But, according to opponents of the superintendent salary cap, these changes will not address the underlying issue caused by the initial mandate.
“The cap has very clearly harmed districts across New Jersey, including ours, in their ability to retain and attract top superintendent talent,” Baker said. “When the salary cap was imposed in 2011, the limits set were often significantly below what incumbent superintendents were being paid. The salary cap resulted in a swift and far reaching exodus of educational leaders. Across the state, dozens of school districts, including ours, lost their superintendents as their contracts expired and they faced renewals with pay cuts of tens of thousands of dollars. Many NJ superintendents went to districts in nearby states, particularly New York.
“With the imposition of the superintendent cap, more and more assistant superintendents across the state chose to remain in their positions, at then-current salaries above the superintendent salary cap levels,” she continued. “New Jersey might have chosen to define reasonable metrics for setting superintendent compensation that balances the need for districts to control spending with their need to attract the top educational leaders. Instead, the state chose the absolute cap at a level guaranteed to trigger departures and a shortage of qualified new candidates.”
The Accountability Regulations were originally scheduled to sunset on Nov. 25. However, because the proposed revisions were filed Nov. 16, the current regulations will remain in effect for an additional 180 days; they will now sunset on May 24, 2017.
The Department of Education has scheduled three public hearings on the proposed regulations: Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, from noon to 2 p.m. at the New Jersey Department of Education, 100 River View Executive Plaza, Trenton; Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Camden County College, 200 College Drive, Blackwood; and Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Morris County Police and Fire Academy Auditorium, 500 W. Hanover Ave. in Morristown.