$150K-Plus Salaries For These Barnegat, Manahawkin Administrators

BARNEGAT-MANAHAWKIN, NJ — More than 2,500 educational administrators in the state made salaries of $150,000 or more during the past school year, including those in Barnegat Township, Stafford Township and Southern Regional school districts, according to data from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Patch pulled salary data that includes superintendents, principals and other employees in administrative positions — down to assistant principals — within New Jersey schools. Out of roughly 8,400 people who fit the description, 2,556 of them made $150,000 or more.

It's becoming increasingly common for school administrators in New Jersey to make that much. In 2011, then-Gov. Chris Christie implemented a $175,000 cap for superintendents. The Christie administration raised their maximum base pay to $191,584 in 2017.

But Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law in 2019 that eliminates the cap for superintendent salaries but set guidelines for school-executive contracts to limit or standardize bonuses and other perks.

School-executive pay has long been a controversial subject in both local school district budgeting and state policy. While administrative salaries are often a flashpoint for criticism in school policy, many districts struggled to maintain experienced superintendents when the position's pay was capped, according to a 2019 analysis from NJ Spotlight.

Southern Regional School District Superintendent Craig Henry ranks 36 on the list with a $240K salary.

He's followed by Southern Regional's Business Administrator Steven Terhune, ranking 142 with a salary of $213K.

Here's a list of Barnegat Township, Stafford Township and Southern Regional school districts' highest-paid school administrators, where they rank in the state, position, along with their school, their years of service and their salaries:

36. CRAIG HENRY, District Office, Southern Regional School District, 43, $240,332

142. STEVEN TERHUNE, District Office, Southern Regional School District, 27, $213,960

570. GEORGE CHIDIAC, Oxycocus Elementary School, Stafford Township School District, 8, $183,677

931. MEGAN VILE, District Office, Southern Regional School District, 9, $173,965

1699. LOURDES LA GUARDIA, Oxycocus Elementary School, Stafford Township School District, 3, $160,742

1738. ELISABETH BRAHN, Southern Regional Middle School, Southern Regional School District, 22, $160,211

1922. DENISE BENSE, Robert L. Horbelt Elementary School, Barnegat Township School District, 25, $157,788

2094. JOSEPH MEDICA, Southern Regional High School, Southern Regional School District, 21, $155,211

2205. JOSEPH DIPIETRO, Southern Regional High School, Southern Regional School District, 14, $154,211

2224. STEPHEN BRENNAN, Barnegat High School, Barnegat Township School District, 5, $153,900

To view the entire statewide list click here.

This article contains additional reporting by Josh Bakan.