Lawsuit Tries to Block Cap on Superintendents' Pay

The association representing New Jersey school superintendents is looking to block Gov. Chris Christie's plan to cap school leaders' pay, with a lawsuit filed in Morris County last week.

The suit names Morris County Executive Superintendent Kathleen Serafino, Acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle Hendricks and the state Department of Education as the defendants. It claims the state has no authority to interfere with school board decisions about administrator pay and says the salary caps are illegal.

New Jersey legislative law "specifically vest[s] the authority to fix salaries for school superintendents with the boards of education," reads the complaint, filed by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators along with two Morris County school superintendents.

Under a plan put forth by Gov. Chris Christie last year, and set to take effect  Feb. 7, most school districts could pay their top officials no more than $175,000 per year—the same salary the governor makes. Salary caps are set on a scale by district population; smaller districts would have lower ceilings for superintendent pay.

Westwood Regional School District Superintendent Geoffrey Zoeller said he is against the governor's proposal because "sustained quality leadership at the highest ranks in education has a direct and enduring positive correlation with enhanced student achievement." Zoeller is paid above the proposed cap, making $197,150 in 2009.

"To date I have seen nothing that supports the governor's proposals beyond the usual narrow, political and hackneyed bashing of school administrators that has been the hallmark of virtually all of the governor's predecessors for the past 20 years," Zoeller said.

He said that while there have been abuses, those should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. "...You don’t punish the whole class or the whole team because of the abuses of the few," he said.

District superintendent contracts typically go to county executive superintendents for review. But on Nov. 15, Hendricks ordered Serafino and other county executive superintendents to hold off on approving any such contracts that exceed the cap—even though the cap hasn't yet taken effect.

Hendricks told each county executive superintendent to conduct a "comprehensive review" of any contracts. Until the reviews are completed, she said, no new contracts should be approved.

"Governor Christie and acting Commissioner Hendricks are saying no and working with county executive superintendents to stop these abuses that come at the expense of New Jersey children and restoring fiscal sanity by bringing school superintendents' salaries under control," the state Department of Education said in a press release issued in December. "Acting Commissioner Hendricks has directed the executive county superintendents not to approve any contract extensions for superintendents whose current contracts expire after Feb. 7, 2011 unless they are consistent with the salary cap that will take effect on that date." The suit contends that direction was illegal.

"The acting commissioner does not have the authority to tell county executive superintendents not to approve the contracts," said Maria M. Lepore, chief counsel for the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. "Refusal to approve the contracts is contrary to New Jersey constitutional law."

Hendricks' directive came after Parsippany's school board submitted a contract with its own superintendent's salary well above the cap, and Christie publicly singled out that school district as an example of why reform is needed.

Also joining the suit directly are Chatham school Superintendent Jim O’Neill and Long Hill Township schools Superintendent Dr. Renee Rovtar, who say Hendricks specifically had no right to block their own contract approvals.

The State Department of Education declined to comment Friday. President Paul Liddy did not return calls for comment.

Michelle Sartor contributed to this report.