Updated - Contract Details Released for School Superintendent Kuder

School Superintendent Richard Kuder will receive an annual prorated salary of $155,000 following a a 6-1 vote by the Wyckoff Board of Education Monday night to approve his contract.

The lone "No" vote was from board member Thomas Giamanco, who asked for a motion to table the vote on Kuder's contract until the public had a chance to review it.

"Rather than sneaking in a vote today without the public having the ability to review the contract, I'd like the board to be consistent in its transparency and give voters the chance to review it and comment on it," Giamanco said.

The motion was denied.

The Department of Education regulations state that districts with enrollment of 1,501 to 3,000 pupils can offer superintendents up to $155,000. The Wyckoff School District educates approximately 2,380 children. Kuder earned $180,000 annually as interim superintendent.

Late Tuesday afternoon the Board posted Kuder's contract online. He will receive the maximum allowable annual prorated salary of $155,000. The contract includes language stipulating that if current regulations imposing a salary cap are modified and a later date, the Board and superintendent can revisit his annual compensation.

Kuder is also eligible to receive a merit bonus in addition to his base salary if certain criteria are met. To view the superintendent's contract, click here. 

Upon being appointed Kuder was prepared to move forward, looking at the hurdles ahead. "I think the biggest challenge will be how to continue to meet the standard of excellence in education that our parents expect with the resources available," Kuder told Wyckoff Patch after the vote. "The education landscape is changing. The technology that we use to assist the way we teach students is changing. And we still believe in the core traditional values of education. We want kids to write well, speak well and to read widely. Those are huge challenges even as we try to personalize and more individualize  instruction for our students."

Among Kuder's supporters at the BOE meeting was township committee member Chris DePhillips, who said Kuder had the "full support of the community."  DePhillips added, "And I don't need to see your contract to know you're taking a substantial pay cut to do this job and for that we're grateful." 

Also on last night's agenda was the first of several planned public meetings on the proposed $35.9 million budget, which would represent a $156 property tax increase based on the average assessed home value of $810,000. During a budget overview Kuder reiterated the 1.5 percent increase in the tax levy would be the smallest increase in 14 years and less than the 2 percent permitted by law.

While several residents on hand seemed to support the budget numbers, some others felt the Board needed to look for further cuts. One resident, Susan Winton, took the board to task.

"For you to say it's only a 1.5 percent increase to me is offensive," Winton said. "I think you should have taken a much sharper pencil to the budget and presented us with one that was even."

The Board of Education will be holding a series of meetings in April at each of the Wyckoff schools during each school's PTO meeting.