"...The suit contends the new rules violate the administrators' rights to due process and single them out over other public employees..."

Superintendents sue education commissioner Administrators association challenges new state rules on contracts and compensation Friday, August 15, 2008 BY JOHN MOONEY Star-Ledger Staff Adding fuel to the debate over school costs, the group representing New Jersey's superintendents filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the state education commissioner, claiming new limits on administrators' pay are arbitrary and unconstitutional. The suit comes one day after the state released information about compensation for more than 3,000 administrators, including millions of dollars in stipends, benefits and other pay beyond their published salaries. But the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Trenton, challenges new regulations enacted by Education Commissioner Lucille Davy last month that give the state the power to review and even reject the contracts of superintendents, assistant superintendents and business administrators. The suit contends the new rules violate the administrators' rights to due process and single them out over other public employees. "The government can't create arbitrary classes, and to regulate the salaries of 1,400 administrators and not 200,000 other school employees doesn't make a lot of sense," said Stephen Edelstein, lawyer for the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and four individuals named as plaintiffs. "She (Davy) is trying to treat school district employees as state employees, and they are not. There is a strong home rule tradition in this state," he said. The lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of new regulations, Edelstein said. Efforts to reach Davy last night were unsuccessful. A spokesman for Gov. Jon Corzine said he stands by Davy's effort to toughen standards on administrative pay. "Governor Corzine commends Commissioner Davy's efforts to provide strong oversight to the contracts negotiated by local school boards," said the spokesman, Robert Corrales. "The contracts negotiated should be readily accessible to the public to ensure that every dollar goes towards the education of our children." Davy enacted the new regulations unilaterally and without the usual review and approval of the state Board of Education. Caps were placed on sick time and other provisions that can inflate pay by tens of thousands of dollars. The new rules come at a time of public and political outcry over high compensation packages local school boards approved for administrators, including a retirement deal for more than $740,000 to outgoing Keansburg Superintendent Barbara Trzeszkowski. The regulations also give state officials the power to reject provisions in new contracts that call for "excessive" pay and retirement benefits, like those approved for Trzeszkowski. Existing contracts would not fall under the new rules. The 30-page complaint filed by the administrators association claims the new rules represent an unconstitutional "taking of property" from the administrators, potentially reducing their compensation without due process of law. It also says the rules against "excessive" pay or those that are not found to be "reasonable" fail to define what those terms mean. "Portions of the new regulations are so vague as to be void and unenforceable," said Richard Bozza, the association's director. Also named as plaintiffs in the case are Old Bridge superintendent Simon Bosco, Lyndhurst superintendent Joseph Abate Jr., Hopewell Township superintendent Terry Van Zoeren and Black Horse Pike assistant superintendent John Golden. John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.