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| Christie’s the Boss |
| posted by: Alix | November 16, 2010, 04:33 PM |
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This week New Jersey is again making national headlines over Governor Christie's run-ins with the education establishment in the state. On Monday, Christie publically criticized a raise in salary approved for a local superintendent. Christie called Parsippany-Troy Hills Superintendent LeRoy Seitz "the new poster boy for all that is wrong with the public school system that's being dictated by greed." Currently, Superintendent Seitz makes $212,000 per year. Under the new contract, he would get 2 percent raises each year of the five-year contract. This salary is significantly higher that the state's chief executive, which currently stands at $175,000. Recently Christie set a policy that would cap pay of state employees, targeting those who were making over $100,000. Christie saw the approval of the contract as disregard to his efforts to reform pay scales, which do not take effect until February. Under the new rules most superintendents would not have base pay of more than the $175,000. Superintendent pay would be capped according to the size of district. Some administrators would be restricted to salaries as low as $125,000. Superintendents would be able to get performance bonuses of up to 20 percent and could get extra pay if they are appointed to oversee more than one school district. These seem like significant salaries; however, the reality is when this new system goes into effect, most will get pay cuts starting with their new contract. The heat of Governor Christie is apparently too much to take. Morris County's executive schools chief ordered the Parisppany Board of Education to rescind the contract extension this week. This controversy certainly raises the question of what are appropriate salaries for school chiefs around the country. In New Jersey, for example, the cost spent on schools is a major reason New Jersey has the nation's highest average property-tax bill. Could caps on those making over $100,000 be an alternative to cutting spending for school programs that directly affect students? Comment below.
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