$150K-Plus Salaries For Moorestown Superintendent, School Admins

MOORESTOWN, NJ — It's becoming increasingly common for school administrators in New Jersey to make upwards of $150,000. This year, that included 11 members of the Moorestown 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, then-Superintendent Michael Volpe had the highest salary in the Moorestown district, at $229,500. But Volpe left the position last winter, and Joe Bollendorf currently leads the district as interim superintendent. So as far as administrators who remain in the district, David Tate had the highest salary. Tate made $187,739 and currently serves as the school system's director of special education.

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

1. Michael Volpe, superintendent: $229,500
2. David Tate, director of special education: $187,739
3. Carole Butler, director of human resources, inclusion and diversity: $185,916
4. Andrew Seibel, principal of Moorestown High School: $179,740
5. Susan Powell, principal of Moorestown Upper Elementary School: $167,689
6. Karen Benton, director of curriculum, instruction and innovation: $164,800
7. Michele Rowe, principal of George C. Baker Elementary School: $155,638
8. Brian Carter, principal of Mary E. Roberts Elementary School: $151,976
9. Kathleen D'Ambra, supervisor, guidance services: $151,212
10. Roseth Rodriguez, supervisor, humanities: $150,986
11. James Heiser, business administrator: $150,414

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 significant five- and even six-digit raises last year. But 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 the pandemic exacerbated New Jersey's shortage of teaching candidates.

With reporting from Michelle Rotuno-Johnson/Patch staff.