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

LACEE, 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 the Lacey Township School District, 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.

Lacey Township School District Superintendent Vanessa Clark is the highest paid administrator in Lacey, ranking 296 with a $195K salary.

Here's a list of Lacey Township School District's highest-paid school administrators, where they rank in the state, position, along with their school, their years of service and their salaries:

296. VANESSA CLARK, District Office, Lacey Township School District, 24, $195,997

752. PATRICK DEGEORGE, District Office, Lacey Township School District, 5, $178,279

990. WILLIAM ZYLINSKI, District Office, Lacey Township School District, 27, $173,000

2528. GREGORY BRANDIS, Lacey Township High School, Lacey Township School District, 7, $150,080

To view the entire statewide list click here.

This article contains additional reporting by Josh Bakan.