$150K-Plus Salaries For East Brunswick Superintendent, School Admins

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — School administrators in New Jersey are among the highest-paid in the country and it comes as no surprise they make upwards of $150,000.

The state Department of Education recently released data that showed over 3,200 administrators made $150,000 or more during the 2022-23 school year — an increase after 2,556 did so the year prior.

This also includes 20 members from the East Brunswick School district.

Patch pulled salary data that includes superintendents, principals and assistant principals, curriculum directors and other employees in administrative positions within New Jersey schools.

Superintendent Victor Valeski with 29 years of experience, was among the top 20 highest-paid school administrators in NJ. Under Valeski's leadership, the district has consistently ranked among the top-performing schools in the state.

Here are the top earners in East Brunswick 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. Victor Valeski, Superintendent, $268,178
2. Bernardo Giuliana, Asst. Superintendent for Business & Support Operations, $213,628
3. Louis Figueroa, Asst. Superintendent of Student Activities & Services, $201,542
4. Joyce Boley, Assistant Superintendent of Academics, $200,908
5. Michael Vinella, Principal - East Brunswick High School, $194,467
6. Joseph Crotchfelt, Director of Financial Services, $182,104
7. Michael Gaskell, Principal - Hammarskjold Upper Elementary School, $181,327
8. Danielle Hardish, District Office, $179,807
9. Matthew N. Hanas, Principal - Churchill Junior High School, $173,885
10. Nicole Tibbetts, Director of Human Resources, $171,307
11. Cheryl Jones, Principal- Memorial Elementary School, $167,859
12. Joseph Csatari, Principal - Warnsdorfer Elementary School, $167,859
13. Danielle DiNinno, Director of Professional Learning, Evaluation & Assessment, $166,907
14. Louise Sultana, Director of Special Education, $165,200
15. Thomas Husar, Department Chairperson Grades 8-12 - Central Elementary, $164,793
16. Daniel Moran, Supervisor of Social Studies Grades K-12, $163,516
17. Elizabeth Dunn, Principal - Lawrence Brook Elementary, $163,260
18. JoAnn Chmielowicz, Principal - Irwin Elementary School, $161,727
19. Christine Sce, Principal - Chittick Elementary School, $160,194
20. Anthony Gugliotta, Supervisor of Mathematics, $159,866

Why Are School Administrator Salaries 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. 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.

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 New Jersey has faced a shortage of teaching candidates that preceded the pandemic.

(With reporting from Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch Staff)

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