c: Senator Thomas H. Kean,  Assemblyman Jon M. BramnicK, Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz

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SUPERINTENDENT SALARY CAPS                    OP ED                          THURSDAY 11/18/2010

Jim O’Neill, Superintendent, School District of the Chathams

Published Sunday 11/21/10 in the Daily Record

Identifying the problem is easy; bringing attention to the problem is laudable; pretending to have answers to all the problems is disingenuous.  Governor Christie is a master politician, has an appealing populist agenda and has become the darling of many in the media.  The governor has, in fact, correctly identified many of the difficult and perplexing issues that face New Jersey.  Unfortunately, Mr. Christie then decided it was good politics if not good policy, to ridicule, berate and demean the very people who are in a position to help him find long term solutions.  This is how citizens of good will, who are eager to contribute to problem solving, find themselves at odds with the governor and sometimes each other.

The Governor has shared: what teachers do while attending a conference; how weak-kneed board members kowtow to every request by a superintendent; the exact dollar amount a superintendent should earn; how to save the pension funds while not contributing state dollars; the benefits of charter schools; the negatives of public schools; what is best for every school district from High Point to Cape May; what was wrong with every administration prior to his own as well as the shortcomings of the NJ Supreme Court not to mention tunnels and federal applications.

Mr. Christie does not trust legislators or locally elected officials and is not interested in their ideas.  He is bombastic in his rhetoric, crass in his personal attacks and unequivocal in his assertion that he knows best.   Consequently topics which merit discussion are summarily dismissed.   Since leadership is determined to be a key factor in every other organization, how was it determined this is not true in school districts?  A Board of Education takes legal action he disagrees with and it becomes “all that is wrong with education in NJ.”  Apparently, the fact that some superintendents make more money than the governor is sufficient to incur his wrath.   Consequently, superintendents in small districts who fill multiple key roles find their salaries will be capped based on the single metric of student enrollment.  An enrollment difference of 20 students will relegate a superintendent in a high performing district with a per pupil cost  lower than the state average (saving local tax payers millions of dollars annually) to a lower base salary than a low performing district spending millions more.  If the pension fund is in jeopardy, why shouldn’t superintendents making more than the proposed caps contribute twice as much to the pension, or why don’t we impose a pension cap rather than a salary cap?  How did the governor determine that it is better for a superintendent to retire now and drain the pension fund at an exacerbated rate rather than continue to work and contribute needed dollars?    He is doubling down on the mistakes that led to the precipitous retirement of thousands of qualified teachers.   Debate about the value of a superintendent or the devastating fiscal impact of more retirements are apparently unnecessary because the governor knows best and should not be challenged.   Recently, the governor incorrectly accused boards of circumventing the regulations when in fact, he is ignoring them.  The Acting Puppet Commissioner stops the approval of contracts while there is a review even though all contracts have long been on file in the county offices.  The Attorney General’s office previously determined that contracts had to be approved according to the existing regulations.  But, the governor does not agree!  To paraphrase another time and place - once the governor has decided, ‘so let it be written, so let it be done!”   

Dedicated School board members serve endless hours for no compensation but stand accused of callous disregard for the expenditure of public funds while the governor engages in reckless name calling which demeans the office he holds.  In Morris County the same people who were smart enough to elect the governor are apparently not capable of knowing what is best for their own district.  Mr. Christie would have us believe every district in the state is administered poorly and lacks diligent oversight from the board of education.  Is it true there no districts out of almost 600 where the Board has proven to be a careful and conscientious guardian of public funds?  Are there any districts in the state where the superintendent has provided effective leadership, kept costs down and students are performing well?   Is there an isolated case where the board or the superintendent does not fit the stereotype painted by the governor?   If a district is spending millions of dollars less than others, should the board members or the superintendent get any of the credit?    Local school districts, regardless of student performance and fiscal prudence, will be subject to the cap, but Technical Schools, regardless of how small, are exempt from the cap.  The fact that the governor trusts Freeholders but not school boards to oversee districts is proof of political posturing, not fiscal prudence.   Does anyone believe that decision making at the state level will save one dollar?   What state takeover has resulted in high performance and low cost?  The evidence in New Jersey is clear - less intrusion from Trenton will be better and cheaper.   Our Republican legislators used to berate Democrats for their intervention in local affairs.  Why have those voices fallen silent?  I need to know before I buy a Chris Christie sweatshirt.

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The Verona Board of Education, I believe, is charged with the following responsibilities – to ensure our schools are run properly, that our community support for education is strong, and that our long-term strategy for success is sound.  In order to properly accomplish these goals we must continually navigate a seamlessly never-ending series of issues, pit-falls, and unexpected speed-bumps.  The most difficult obstacles to address are the ever-shifting bureaucratic mandates and requirements of the State and Federal governments.  These changes to legislation, developed far beyond our locale, can wreak havoc with our planning, budgeting and strategy. 

This year you’ve all read about the $400 million Race to the Top aid that NJ did not qualify for.  The fact is, even if we did qualify for this funding, Verona would have benefitted minimally.  Although the actual amount was never fully established, we were given approximate figures of $25,000 a year, for 4 years.  However, the money would have been designated for very specific uses and accompanied by extremely specific reporting requirements.  The result would have been the sort of extra work that requires a strong deviation from our strategic plan, additional paperwork, extensive committee work and additional administrative costs.  In other words, it would have cost us more in frivolous efforts while diverting us from our goals. The amount of media and political coverage this funding received, when it’s of little (if any) benefit to towns like Verona, is amazing.

You may have heard of the $268 million in Federal Education Aid (this was part of a $26 Billion government spending bill).  New Jersey was awarded that money – and following Trenton’s allocation based on need – Verona was awarded a one-time $47,000 grant.  Again, the money can only be used for very specific situations centered on job creation.  That’s difficult to do with so little money and with the fact that it’s a one-time payment.  If we chose to hire an employee with this funding how would we pay that individual next year?

These two financial examples received incessant media coverage (“free” money always gets catchy headlines and politicians can fall over themselves to get to the podium).  However, a few weeks ago, we were notified of a $100,000 increase (forced by the state) in our annual payment to the pension system.  Every town in the state was hit with this unbudgeted mandate.  The pension system is designated by the state, run by the state and we do not have a say in any part of it – other than footing the bill.  Our budget is prepared and voted on in April for the coming July 1st – June 30^th fiscal year, and that’s no secret to Trenton.  Yet, here is a forced increase - with no advance warning - that we must pay out of our current budget.  Is it possible that, in April, Trenton didn’t know their pension system was in dire straits so we could have better planned for this?

On the Legislative front, our State politicians fare no better.  Senate bill S-295 requires all Board of Education members to undergo back-ground checks (a good idea).  Any candidate convicted of certain crimes would not be allowed to serve.  This bill passed the State Assembly 80-0,  unanimous.  However, I share the view of many others that ask why this rule doesn’t apply to Municipal, County nor to State politicians?  I find it hard to believe that Board of Education members – no matter what the kudos – are somehow always more important that State Senators or Assemblymen. 

Assembly bill A-2772 will force school districts that negotiate wage freezes or other union concessions to use those savings only to prevent layoffs.  No savings may be used for tax-relief or to fund any other educational need.  This one leaves me completely speechless.

Two years ago, I attended a forum where Gov. Corzine spoke about Education funding.  During the Q/A session, I asked the Governor if we could create some metric that shows how well (or poorly…) managed each school district was.  Based on that analysis, I argued, the state could reward those who are successful – and focus their legislation on the districts that do a poor job managing their schools.  Mr. Corzine said it was impossible to do because every school district has very different needs.  I asked, if that were the case, then why is every bit of legislation the same for every town?  If we properly negotiate contracts, contain our costs, define and follow sound strategy, why does the state constrain us the same as it does for towns that fail in so many ways?  Lucille Davy (then Commissioner of Education) interrupted and said she’d like to hear more about our ideas – to contact her office.  However, her office never responded to the three calls/emails I sent her.

These are just recent examples – things like this have been going on for years and years.  What concerns me the most is the continuing call to “consolidate” and to take away local control of our schools and (potentially) our municipal budget.  In every single case, we lose.  Our tax money would be pooled with other towns and some bureaucrat will decide where and how that money is spent.  We have that in County, State and Federal government.  About two years ago, the Star Ledger reported how much money the state grants to each town in aid, given the income taxes paid.  In Verona, for all the income tax we collectively pay, we received about 7 cents on the dollar.  The rest went to benefit other places.  That was before they cut our school aid from $1.4 million to $70,000 per year.

The state of New Jersey is essentially broke.  Trenton’s eyes are now on our property tax dollars.  Right now, 80 cents of every property tax dollar we pay is exclusively used to benefit Verona – our town and schools.  The other 20 cents goes to Essex County.  I see nothing good in sending my property tax money to a politician (or worse, an appointee I don’t get to vote for) who has no accountability to our community – and who will take our money and decide how it will be shared with other towns.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for – you may get it.  I believe our community strongly supports our education system.  Our staff is strong and our leadership is very effective.  Our costs, by comparison, are very low.  But most of all, in Verona we control our own budgets and goals.

John Quattrocchi

Verona Board of Education Member