Superintendent In Livingston Among 50 Most Highly Paid In NJ

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Educators provide the tools for generations of youngsters to move forward in life, and school administrators must do so with years of experience and education under their belts. And as with private companies, their salaries increase with more years and training.

But some are earning more than $200,000 per year since retiring, particularly since Gov. Phil Murphy removed the cap on their salaries in 2019 that Gov. Chris Christie had placed in 2011.

A recently released list of highly paid superintendents and administrators in the state showed that among those at the top, the highest paid, Frank Gargiulo in Hudson County, earned $300,000 during the past school year, even while retired.

Two other New Jersey administrators — not necessarily of large districts — are also earning $300,000.

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. He did set guidelines for school-executive contracts to limit or standardize bonuses and other perks.

Some of the state's highest-paid superintendents — especially those in more affluent districts — received generous pay increases in the past year, according to analysis from NJ Advance Media.

For instance, the salary for the superintendent of the 700-student Demarest district increased almost 50 percent, from $153,967 to $228,477. Millburn's superintendent went from a salary of $167,500 to $228,477, according to NJ Advance Media's report.

In Essex County

Livingston's superintendent wasn't among the top 30 highest paid. Millburn's superintendent came in at number 30.

During this past year, Livingston Superintendent of Schools Matthew Block came in at number 47 among the highest paid superintendents, administrators, and principals in New Jersey.

Block has recent successes to continue to live up to. Livingston is traditionally a high performing district.

U.S. News and World Report put Livingston High School in the top 20 schools out of all 445 New Jersey high schools this year, and in the top 500 out of more than 17,800 schools in the country.

Livingston had eight National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists during the past school year.

Block earned a salary of $237,000, according to the list compiled by Patch.

The top 10 list is here: $150K-Plus Salaries For 2,556 NJ Superintendents, Principals

Patch editor Josh Bakan contributed to this report.