Wayne Superintendent Gets Contract Extension At Recent Board Meeting

WAYNE, NJ — The Wayne school board secured a steady hand in the superintendent's chair, choosing to extend Dr. Mark Toback's contract more than a year before it was set to expire.

The Board of Education approved the contract extension at its March 16 meeting 7-0, with two members abstaining from the vote. Toback is in his ninth year with the district.

Board attorney Sarah Gober said the new contract will last Jan. 1, 2023 to June 30, 2027. This year, Toback’s salary was increased from $242,809 to $250,000. Incremental raises are built in, with Toback’s salary set to be $281,377 by school year 2026-27. Gober also said the board followed the correct process for altering or amending a superintendent's contract.

Several residents said they felt like the process was rushed, as Toback's current contract does not expire until next summer and because copies of the proposed new contract were not available online before the meeting.

“There are too many things that are done too routinely on this board,” said resident Norman Robinson, questioning if new board members had enough time to review the contract and get to know Toback before they voted.

Resident Wendy Limandri asked for residents to have more time to review the contract, and saying "the taxpayers have some questions."

"This must be difficult for you to sit here," she said, looking to Toback. "This whole scenario was created by the board, and I feel bad for you."

Other residents praised Toback and said now is not the time for Wayne Schools to switch superintendents.

Suzanne Pudup, who left the Wayne Board of Education at the beginning of this year, said Toback has had “excellent evaluations” every year and said the contract “didn’t come out of left field.”

“What’s in his contract is more than fair,” she said, in comparison with what other superintendents in similar NJ districts make. “And he does a great job.”

Board member Sean Duffy, a career firefighter, said the district was "in the heat of a fire" before Toback joined the district, and said it was imperative to not let a contract discussion wait until the last minute.

“If we don’t do it now, Dr. Toback can be looking to go somewhere else,” Duffy said.

New board member Ryan Battershill said it is up to the school board to put the right vision and direction around Toback.

“We need to look at the policies, the procedures, the vision that we create as a board that helps him to be more successful.”

Battershill said parent input can help guide what policy the school board sets.

Board member Harry Prassakos said that while he does not agree with Toback all the time, he recognizes the need for a steady hand at the wheel of Wayne Schools.

The district also proposed its budget for the 2023-24 school year, which includes a tax increase. Read more here —Tax Levy Increase Proposed In 2023-2024 Wayne Schools Budget

Public comment period on Toback's contract was scheduled at meetings on Dec. 1 and on Dec 15 but those meetings were both canceled; one for lack of quorum and one for the weather.

Toback told Patch that the board opted to push any decision on his contract to the new year, not wanting to make a major decision when it was considered a "lame duck" and three members were set to leave.

"At that point, it was very close to a new board being seated in early January, so the BOE opted to push the process into the new year and with the new board," he said.