Diane DeGiacomo
Guest Column
During the past months, the cost of living in the Garden State has been an even hotter topic than usual in the Legislature, in the media, and on the streets. With property taxes as high as ever, with the sales tax up another percentage point, and with just about everything imaginable subject to additional tax levies, few New Jerseyans appear happy with the status quo.
I realize, therefore, that the point I’d like to make today may not be well-received, but it’s one that I feel needs to be expressed.
In discussions concerning education costs, quite a bit of attention has focused on the salaries school superintendents receive. In fact, a story dealing with this topic appeared recently in The New York Times. I expressed concern about the compensation packages that boards of education in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are awarding their chief school administrators, and stated that many superintendents are currently receiving salaries beyond that normally offered public service employees.
I understand why this might touch a nerve among state residents already having a difficult time making ends meet. But before you pass judgment on the practice of offering competitive salaries to attract the best people to superintendent positions, I ask that you consider the following.
A superintendent of schools is the CEO of his/her school district. Today’s superintendents are often responsible for budgets totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. They are the ones who spearhead the development of a district’s vision and goals. They are motivators, as well as administrators. A superintendent is a district’s educational leader and is ultimately responsible for the quality of a school system’s total educational program. And let’s fact it, although superintendents don’t get the company stock options and other perks most CEOs routinely receive, the buck still stops with them. Just as with a CEO, it’s the superintendent who will ultimately be held responsible for any blunders that are made, regulations not met, state standards not achieved, or calamities that occur.
As a school superintendent myself and as president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), I realize that many state residents believe that public service employees, superintendents included, should be willing to settle for much less than what the education, experience and skill they bring to their positions would normally entitle them. I understand that while the public is comfortable with the idea that business and industry leaders often command top dollar for their services, they often express outrage when those handling the enormous responsibilities incumbent in running a school district earn salaries anywhere near commensurate with their expertise.
But let me ask you this: How will we ever be able to attract the best and brightest to leadership positions in our school districts if this attitude prevails? Now, more than ever, our schools need strong and capable leadership, but why should an individual with a superior résumé and a proven record of success accept far less in compensation than he/she could command in the private sector?
According to the Times, Garden State superintendents are, on the average, actually making less than many of their counterparts in the tri-state area. In New York, for example, a whopping 42 percent of all school chiefs make $200,000 or more annually. In Connecticut, 8 percent top the $200,000 mark, while only 3 percent of New Jersey’s superintendents do so. The majority of New Jersey superintendents (53 percent) earn between $150,000 and $199,999, with the remaining 39 percent bringing in between $100,000 and $149,999 each year. In other words, our state’s superintendents are doing the same job as their colleagues in neighboring states but, in many instances, for less compensation.
I live and work in New Jersey and understand how expensive a proposition this can be. However, I sincerely believe a school district’s search for the best candidate to fill a superintendent opening should not be hindered by regulations that restrict fair and open competition. Our children need and deserve the best.
Diane D. DeGiacomo is president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, Trenton