By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
School Superintendent Jorden Schiff will receive a 12.9 percent merit bonus for meeting most of his professional goals in the 2014-15 school year.
The Board of Education approved the bonus at its Aug. 24 meeting, and passed his goals for the coming school year.
Hillsborough’s budget shows Dr. Schiff earning a $177,500 base salary, the maximum under state law for a district of more than 6,500 students. A 12.9 percent increase would amount to about $22,900.
Dr. Schiff achieved three of five goals and partially met the other two.
He fully realized a goal of finding $40,000 or more savings in the custodial overtime budget by implementing an online timesheet, using flextime schedules and hiring high school students for summertime custodial work. For that, he received a 3.33 percent increase.
The superintendent also fully realized the goal of seeing all nine building principals have their teachers set student growth objectives. The achievement meant a 3.33 percent merit bonus.
Another goal was to have Raritan Valley Community College set up courses locally that would allow Hillsborough High School students to receive high school and college credit concurrently. The goal was six courses; two or three were realized, meriting a 1.25 percent bonus.
He was given a 2.5 percent bonus for completing a rubric to evaluate how well teachers are bringing technology in the 1-to-1 initiative into daily practice.
He partially achieved a goal of seeing a 5 percent average increase on language arts test scores by students in grades 4 to 7. That meant a 2.5 percent merit bonus.
In 2011, the state legislature capped base salaries for school superintendents at $125,000 to $175,000, depending on the size of the district. Superintendents of certain schools, like charter schools and technical schools, are exempt.
Recently, the move has been questioned, ostensibly because the cap has led New Jersey school leaders to resign and take jobs in other states. The state Senate voted, 22-13, in May to lift the cap. A similar measure has been introduced in the Assembly, but not yet brought up.
The school board also passed goals for Dr. Schiff for the 2015-16 school year.
He can gain a bonus of up to 4 percent based on how many students in grades 5 and 6 show a 4 percent increase on language arts testing scores. The 2014-15 common assessment data showed that grades 5 and 6 did not improve as much as other tested grades.
He could gain up to 3.5 percent of his base salary based on how many students meet growth objectives set by teachers.
He can receive up to 3.33 percent of his base salary based on efficiencies realized in the custodial operations budget. Savings must total at least $15,000 for a 1.11 percent raise, and $55,000 or more for the highest raise.
The superintendent can gain up to 2.5 percent of his base salary based on how many Raritan Valley course are set up locally in the 2016-17 school year. The courses would allow Hillsborough High students to receive high school and college credit concurrently.
He can see up to a 2.5 percent merit increase based on the number of “instructional rounds” held in different schools in this year to identify and develop a plan to increase teacher effectiveness.
