Schools

Five Figure Discount: Superintendent Hayes Will Lose Much Under Gov. Christie's Proposed Pay Cap

As Gov. Chris Christie considers whether to impose a pay cap on school superintendents, SPF education officials discuss the measure's potential impact.

If Gov. Chris Christie chooses to enforce his proposed pay cap for public school superintendents, nontenured assistant superintendents and business administrators, Scotch Plains-Fanwood superintendent Margaret Hayes will lose $20,566 on her next contract. Across the state, 365 other superintendents and nontenured assistant superintendents will also undergo pay cuts. 

Together, they will join the 129 million Americans – 55 percent of the country's adult population – whose employment has been affected by this recession: those who said they are unemployed, have taken pay cuts, have had their work hours reduced or have become involuntary part-time workers, according to a Pew Research Center survey published June 30.

Christie's proposal, which he unveiled at a Spotswood elementary school last Thursday, would tie superintendents' salaries to the size of their school districts, from $120,000 for districts with 250 or fewer students, to $175,000 for those with more than 3,000 students. The maximum matches Christie's own salary as governor, according to an Asbury Park Press online database of public employee salaries, and it is the amount that would apply to Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"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 in a statement published last Thursday on The Star-Ledger's website, NJ.com. "This cap will limit excessive administrator pay and ensure that more dollars are available for our children."

Under the proposal, superintendents and nontenured assistant superintendents whose pay exceeds the cap would have their salaries slashed. But they could earn an additional 15 percent of their overall salaries as merit pay. Tenured assistant superintendents and business administrators whose salaries exceed the cap will have the salaries frozen.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The proposal does not require approval by the state legislature. Instead, county superintendents, who are appointed by the governor, would enforce the measure.

The caps would take effect at the end of each school administrator's contract. Hayes, whose contract ends June 30, 2011, currently earns $195,566, according to the Press database. Anthony Del Sordi, the district's business administrator and second-highest earner, makes $178,942. Assistant superintendent Joan Mast, who is non-tenured, earns $129,668. Her salary does not exceed the proposed cap, and it would not be affected by the measure.

Hayes did not return multiple calls for comment. But in a statement e-mailed by her assistant Tuesday, Hayes said, "Recognizing the financial constraints our school district is facing, I elected to take a pay freeze for the 2010-2011 school year in addition to contributing 1.5 % of my salary towards health care premium costs." At the time, Hayes was not required to make the contribution to her health benefits because her contract had not yet expired.

Hayes declined to comment specifically on the proposed pay cap. "The district has not received any information from the NJDOE regarding the Governor's announcement on proposed salary schedules/limitations for superintendents statewide and thus I cannot comment at this time," she said in the e-mail.

In the past, the New Jersey Department of Education typically sent district administrators and school board members advance notice of upcoming policy changes, Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education president Trip Whitehouse said in a phone interview. Christie and the state's Education Commissioner, Bret Schundler, however, have tended not to do so, Whitehouse said. Instead, the changes are announced publicly, often to the surprise of the administrators and board members they affect.

Under the proposed cap, some superintendents in the state would earn less than those they oversee, such as district principals and supervisors. Others would earn barely more than their subordinates. In Scotch Plains-Fanwood, however, this does not present an immediate issue: high school principal David Heisey, with the third highest salary behind Hayes and Del Sordi, earns $152,721, or $22,279 less than the proposed cap.

"Dr. Heisey would have to receive some pretty big raises over the next five years," Whitehouse said.

But, speaking cautiously, he expressed concern that the cap could minimize or effectively eliminate the salary gaps that exist between principals, supervisors and superintendents, especially if the cap were not regularly increased to account for inflation. If the payment gaps closed, he said, it would erase an incentive for seeking and accepting promotions.

"It would discourage ambition and advancement," Whitehouse said. "Closure could have the effect of people saying, 'I'm in a comfort zone, and a promotion's not worth the additional time, energy and headaches.'

"We can't be blind that compensation doesn't come into the mix."

Dominick Giordano, president of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Education Association, the bargaining unit for the district's teachers, secretaries and educational support staff, said he was concerned that the proposed cap could affect collective bargaining, the process by which principals' and teachers' unions negotiate contracts with their districts.

"What you have is a proposal that bisects collective bargaining," he said in a phone interview. The superintendent's pay cap could set a precedent that would allow further state control over local educators' salaries, he argued. "This could certainly lead to that."

Critics of Christie's proposal have said that the cap and ensuing pay cuts could also engender an exodus of superintendents, who would leave their districts for higher-paying posts outside the state or in the private sector. One Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education member, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he did not want to be seen as speaking on behalf of the board, said that the departure of a superintendent has been and will remain a constant possibility.

"You always risk the person retiring or leaving for greener pastures," the board member said in a phone interview. "Dr. Hayes oversees a budget of $80 million. My boss at work heads a $24 million budget, and he makes way more than $175,000."

For the Asbury Park Press's online database of public employee salaries, visit http://DataUniverse.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here