$150K-Plus Salaries For Cherry Hill Superintendent, School Admins

CHERRY HILL, NJ — It's becoming increasingly common for school administrators in New Jersey to make upwards of $150,000. This year, that included 23 members of the Cherry Hill Township School District, according to data from the state Department of Education released this month.

Patch pulled salary data that includes superintendents, principals and assistant principals, curriculum directors and other employees in administrative positions within New Jersey schools. Overall, more than 3,200 administrators made $150,000 or more during the 2022-23 school year — an increase after 2,556 did so the year prior.

• Read more: These Are The Highest Paid School Administrators In NJ: New Data

Last year, Superintendent Dr. Joseph Meloche received the highest salary in the district at $230,625. But Cherry Hill — one of New Jersey's largest school districts — continues to look for a permanent replacement after Meloche departed for another job June 30.

Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars is the highest earner who still works for Cherry Hill Public Schools, with a $210,311 salary. Dr. Kwame Morton — appointed as interim superintendent last June — made $191,341 last year in his role as assistant superintendent of PreK-12 and curriculum and instruction.

Here are the top earners in Cherry Hill school administration, along with their current or most recent position and most recent salary. All data comes from the New Jersey Department of Education:

• 1. Joseph Meloche, superintendent: $230,625
• 2. Lynn Shugars, assistant superintendent and business/board secretary: $210,311
• Tied for 3. Farrah Mahanm, assistant superintendent of PreK-12 and curriculum: $191,341
• T-3. Kwame Morton, assistant superintendent of PreK-12 and instruction and curriculum: $191,341
• T-3. LaCoyya H. Weathington, assistant superintendent of compliance, equity and pupil services; administrator in charge of district operations: $191,341
• 6. James Riordon, principal at Richard Stockton Elementary School: $185,000
• 7. Dennis Perry, principal at Cherry Hill High School East: $184,789
• 8. John Cafagna, principal at Horace Mann Elementary School: $177,822
• 9. Toni Damon, principal at Cherry Hill High School West (resigned in March): $177,270
• T-10. Neil Burti, principal at John A. Carusi Middle School: $169,989
• T-10. George Guy, principal at Rosa International Middle School: $169,989
• T-12. Matthew Covington, assistant principal at Cherry Hill High School East: $166,612
• T-12. Allison Staffin, district supervisor of curriculum and instruction: $166,612
• T-14. William Marble, principal at Kingston Elementary School: $166,289
• T-14. Jonathan Cohen, principal at Woodcrest Elementary School: $166,289
• 16. Dumar Burgess, principal at Bret Harte Elementary School: $162,270
• 17. Louis Papa, assistant principal at Cherry Hill High School East: $161,239
• 18. Caitlin Mallory, district director of special education: $159,466
• 19. Albert Morales, assistant principal at Rosa International Middle School: $159,032
• 20. Shilpa Davé, supervisor of special education: $157,589
• 21. Aaron Edwards, assistant principal (grade level 11) at Cherry Hill High School East: $157,187
• 22. John Burns, principal at Cherry Hill High School West: $156,173
• 23. Michael Beirao, director of athletics at Cherry Hill High School East: $152,049

Why NJ School-Administrator Salaries Are Rising

Back in 2011, then-Gov. Chris Christie implemented a $175,000 cap for superintendents. The Christie administration raised the maximum base pay for superintendents to $191,584 in 2017.

Then in 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law that eliminated 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. Some of the state's highest-paid administrators received five-digit raises last year. But when the position's pay was capped, many districts struggled to maintain experienced superintendents, according to a 2019 analysis from NJ Spotlight.

Superintendents, principals and other school leaders throughout the nation have faced intense scrutiny for COVID-19 management and from politically charged movements to overhaul or eliminate certain subjects and topics from the curriculum. But those obstacles have also fallen to teachers and other rank-and-file school employees. And the pandemic exacerbated New Jersey's shortage of teaching candidates.

With reporting from Michelle Rotuno-Johnson/Patch staff.