$150K-Plus Salaries For These Berkeley Superintendents, Principals

BERKELEY, 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 both the Berkeley Township and Central 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.

Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides is the highest paid administrator in Berkeley, ranking 391 with a $190K salary.

He's followed by Berkeley Township School District Superintendent James Roselli, who ranks at 573 with a $183K salary.

Here's a list of Berkeley Township and Central 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:

391. TRIANTAFILLOS PARLAPANIDES, Central Regional High School, Central Regional School District, 19, $190,100

573. JAMES ROSELLI, District Office, Berkeley Township School District, 29, $183,674

664. DOUGLAS CORBETT, Central Regional High School, Central Regional School District, 26, $181,000

697. KEVIN OSHEA, Central Regional High School, Central Regional School District, 12, $180,090

910. LAURA GINGERELLI, District Office, Berkeley Township School District, 23, $174,470

2327. DANIEL PRIMA, Berkeley Township Elementary School, Berkeley Township School District, 31, $152,800

To view the entire statewide list click here.

This article contains additional reporting by Josh Bakan.